Staying Organized throughout the College Application Process

Applying for college is a deep-water plunge into adulthood-- the research, the writing, the endless forms, the money! Kudos to you for finishing your applications and submitting them on time. My students are often surprised, however, to find that there is another important step in the process: following up with schools for missing material.

What’s the First Step to Staying Organized During the Application Process?

After you apply, you should receive an email from the school with information on how to log into your portal. I see many students hunting through emails to find the information over and over, and that’s a mistake. There is a simpler way: create a chart or spreadsheet to track information for each school, just as you did when you were preparing your applications. It might look something like this:

Use a Spreadsheet to Track Your Application Requirements for each School

Check each School’s Portal Weekly

The portal is where all your communications will occur with your school, so log into it as soon as it is available. Then, in addition to checking your email every day for college communications, do a sweep through all your portals weekly to ensure you haven’t missed anything.

You may find when you log into the portal that you are missing some needed material, like the guidance counselor’s school report or your transcript. In that case, follow up with your counselor. You may also see that although you have completed the application, the school is asking for something additional, like the student-reported academic record (SRAR). This year, with so many new schools going test optional, we are seeing schools ask for additional material for test-optional students, like a graded paper or an extra letter of recommendation. 

If you applied Early Action, Early Decision, or rolling, you will start to hear from schools soon, and that is the most exciting news you might encounter in your portal! Stay tuned for my upcoming blog posts on admissions decisions, financial aid, and navigating wait lists.