• Insure your colleges have everything they need. Check your accounts, emails, and application portals and make sure your colleges have received your application, scores, and transcript. Scores and transcripts take some time to be processed, so do not worry if it takes a couple weeks for the college to receive. If something is missing or wrong, contact the college and Ms. Butner or your counselor.

​​

• Apply for Financial Aid. Submit the FAFSA, the CSSProfile (if applicable), RDS, and apply for scholarships.

​​

• If a college requests an interview, do it. And don't freak out - these interviews are not that big of a deal. The main purpose is to make sure you are not a crazy person and can hold a conversation. Expect questions about your interests, favorite classes, extracurricular activities, etc. and come prepared to ask your interviewer about the college. If you want help with interview prep or would like to complete a practice interview, see Ms. Butner. 

​​

• Visit the school. If you haven't already, make a trip to the college and take a tour of the campus. Getting on campus is a great way to get excited about college and confirm that the school is a good fit for you.

 

• Relax and wait for your admissions decision. You've worked hard applying to college, and it is now out of your hands. Relax (while keeping your grades up) and have fun during your senior year!

​​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​​

​

​

• If you've been accepted, congratulations! Remember you have until May 1st for most colleges to make your decision, so take time to way your options and offers. 

​

• If you’ve been deferred, it means that you haven’t been accepted yet, but you might be later. Their decision whether to accept or deny you is postponed for a few more months. If you applied early action or early decision, your application has been converted to a regular decision application, and will be reviewed during the normal application season will all the applications. Here’s what you can do if you’ve been deferred:

  • Follow directions. If your deferral letter requests additional information, be sure to submit the material. If you are directed not to send further documents, follow this advice.

  • Stay focused. Don’t allow your grades to slip this semester, the school will be looking at them closely.

  • Consider retaking your standardized tests. If the college sites your test scores as a reason for deferral, consider taking the test again to try and improve your scores. This date may be too late for some colleges, but it is the nearest one available.

  • Keep the admissions office updated. Send your latest grades and test scores if they have improved. If you have won any awards, gained recognition, completed a unique project, etc., provide the admissions office with this information to update your application.

  • Don’t inundate the admissions office. Don’t show up unannounced to plead your case, don’t send 10 more letters of recommendation, don’t call everyday about your application. Spring is a very busy time for admissions officers, so do not overwhelm or annoy them.

  • Apply to more schools.The deadline for many great schools have not passed yet, and there is still time to apply! Even if you were set on attending a certain school, apply to some more schools that fit your grades, test scores, and interests. It’s crucial to have backups, and you may find that a different school is actually a much better fit for you.

​

• If you’ve been waitlisted, it means that the admissions people are done reviewing your file and are keeping your name as a backup. You have to wait and see how many of the accepted students decide to attend the school, and if the university has space after that, you may be let in. Sending additional information won’t typically help in this case, and your best bet while waiting is to seriously consider other schools and complete some additional applications.

 

• If you’ve been rejected, it’s okay! In fact, in terms of admissions at many schools, you are in the majority. It just means that the schools was not the right fit for you. Do not give up or feel inadequate, instead, now is the time to finish additional applications and look at some other college options. There are so many great schools out there, you will find one that is the right fit and wants you.

​​