Steps After Applying to College
Written by: Wilson Kong
Your child just submitted the last college application! All the hard work earning good grades, scoring well on the SAT/ACT exams, and writing strong college essays will soon pay off. Before you both take a sigh of relief and relax, the work is not yet done. There are still many important activities both you and your child can do after the application process is over. Here are some important tips to keep in mind the rest of the school year.
1. Watch for correspondence
After applying to each of your schools, you’ll likely receive additional emails regarding the next steps. Some schools may encourage your child to open a student portal. Here, you can check the status of the application as well as follow up with other campus notifications. Just make sure to keep those usernames and passwords in a safe place. Remind students to check their email (and snail mail) for important communications from schools. It just might be that acceptance letter!
2. Applying for financial aid
If you haven’t already, now is the time to start (or continue) applying for financial aid. Seek out merit-based and/or need-based scholarships. If applicable, be sure to fill out your FAFSA. Colleges often use the FAFSA information to determine if you qualify for other types of aid on their campuses. Add all the schools you applied for on the application and review their Student Aid report. The deadline for FAFSA is June 30th, so make sure to mark your calendars!
3. Maintaining good grades
It goes without saying that your child should maintain good grades for the rest of the school year. While colleges may not have the most up-to-date grades transcripts originally submitted with the application, poor final-term grades can potentially hurt students’ chances of gaining or maintaining admission. Keeping a strong academic profile may even open new opportunities leading up to freshman year. So don’t let that dreaded senioritis take over!
4. Schedule school visits
The winter and spring months are a great time for scheduling in-person campus visits to the schools your child is interested in attending. Even if a school looks perfect on paper, it may feel different spending time on campus and talking to other students. You will also be able to see the facilities, living spaces, and even schedule a campus tour with a group. The campus environment, city life, and cost of living may influence both you and your child’s final decision. Also, admissions offices often track touch points with students because they demonstrate ongoing interest in the school.
5. Staying on top of deadlines
There are so many things to remember when it comes to applying for college. Deadlines are one thing you certainly do not want to forget. Whether they are deadlines for submitting transcripts, dorm applications, or financial aid, make sure to keep track of due dates for each school. Remember that even formal acceptances to a school have deadlines. This would be a great use of those time management and executive functioning skills!
Illuminos understands and supports the importance of helping you take the proper steps after applying to college. Illuminos ensures that each and every student we support academically has the necessary skill set and knowledge to further their education into college and beyond. Be sure to check out our Top Tips for a Less Stressful College Application Process as well for more information.
Reach out to Illuminos today to see how we can help prepare you or your student for college!