College Applications are Due NOW!

The admission application rush is on!  For seniors who did not apply before Christmas, the final deadlines are now approaching for most schools.  That means counselors, teachers, and moms and dads are in full swing trying to get recommendations ready and essays reviewed.  Hopefully, you are not in that boat and you sent your application and supplemental materials in weeks before the deadline.  If you are, though, I have a few things that you might want to check before you click that last submit button.

Have someone else read through your entire application.  I know you have done it five times already and that is exactly the reason you should have someone else look over it for you.  They might be able catch any errors that you are not seeing or suggest details that you have left out.  Also, have someone read over your essay for errors, smoothness, and just to make sure that it makes sense.  Another tip is to be sure that you are sending the right essay to the right colleges.  From an admission perspective nothing is worse than when you send your Duke University application to Vanderbilt.  Most of the time that will earn your application a spot in the garbage can.

I would also suggest logging on to the college’s application review site.  Most colleges will have a website that you can login to and see which items have been received and which are still missing.  For any items that are still missing, you will need to follow up.  For example, if a recommendation from your English teacher is missing, check with them to see if it has been submitted.  If they say it has been submitted, find out when they sent it. Then you will need to contact the school to find out what is going on with your recommendation.  Do the same thing for counselor recommendations, transcripts, and any other supplemental information such as SAT/ACT scores. 

If you have a situation where something has not been submitted, depending on the deadline, you may need to ask someone else to complete it for you.  For example, if one of your teachers has not sent in a recommendation, it might be time to ask a different teacher. You would need to explain to that teacher that you are on a time deadline and be sure that they will be able to send it in for you. You would rather have all three recommendations received on time than to have one missing, which often means that your application never gets reviewed.

So, you might have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks, or days depending on your college’s deadline, but it is worth it! Finish things up, pay attention to details, ask for help reviewing everything, and send it all off. Before you know it, you’ll be receiving your admission decisions in the mail!