Accepted, Denied – What to Do Now

If you submitted early college applications, some decisions are rolling in now (some won’t come until later). You’re no doubt doing a happy dance if you were accepted, scratching your head if you were deferred, and nursing your wounds if you were denied. Regardless of your situation, we’ve got tips about what you need to do now. We’ll cover acceptances and denials this week, and deferrals next week. Remember – it isn’t truly over until you’ve arrived at college next fall!

WEEK 50 TO-DO’S

THIS WEEK

• Do what you need to do in response to the decisions you receive from the colleges about your early applications.

• As soon as you’ve heard from your early schools, you will know which, if any, regular applications to submit. Do it now! (Aren’t you glad you had them ready to go?)

• Check in with your school counselor and your teachers to get anything you need from them before the holiday. Get tips about this in last week’s post.

• Continue doing what it takes to finish the term with great grades.
  
  

THIS WEEK AND EVERY WEEK

• Check your email, voicemail, texts, and snail mail for any communications that relate to applying to college. Read them and take whatever action is necessary.

• Update your parents about what you’re doing. This regular communication will work wonders in your relationship with your parents during this stress-filled year.

TIPS & TRICKS

IF YOU WERE ACCEPTED:

1. Share the happy news with your high school counselor and your recommenders and thank them.

2. If you applied EARLY DECISION, and you have received your financial aid package, and you have read all the fine print, and you can afford to attend, then you are bound to accept the college’s offer and you should do the following:

• Make your enrollment deposit by the stated deadline (usually by January 1).

• Withdraw your other pending applications and decline any other offers of admission. All you have to do is send a two line email to the admissions office at the other colleges: Please withdraw my application from consideration. I was admitted to [name of college] through Early admission and I will be enrolling there. Sign it with your full name, your birth date, and the name of your high school to make sure they withdraw the right application and mark the right offer of admission as “declined.” You must withdraw directly with each individual college. It is not enough to notify your school-based counselor or update your account in Naviance (or whatever internal platform your high school uses).

• Follow through with financial aid deadlines and documentation.

• Don’t lose steam. You have to graduate, you have to keep up your grades, you still have to stay out of trouble….

1. If you applied EARLY DECISION, and you have NOT have received your financial aid package at the same time, sit tight because you do not have to withdraw your other applications until you have received your financial aid package. When you do receive your financial aid package, read it carefully, including the fine print. If you cannot afford to attend, nobody can force you to attend, and you are also free to submit new applications in that scenario. You must let your ED school know if you cannot afford to attend. Do not abuse this process.

2. If you applied EARLY ACTION, then you have some decisions of your own to make because you are not bound to accept the college’s offer.

• Decide whether to accept the offer now, or whether to wait and apply elsewhere and decide after you’ve heard from your other colleges.

• If you decide to accept the offer, follow the checklist above for Early Decision.

• If you decide not to accept, then submit your remaining applications and wait.
  
  

IF YOU WERE DENIED:

1. Wallow in your misery for a short time and then move on. There’s no question that being denied by a college where you applied feels bad. So let yourself feel bad for a little bit. Allow yourself a couple of days to rant, rave, cry, or be grumpy. You just don’t want to get stuck here.

2. Then regroup quickly. Remember life isn’t over and you can go on to a perfectly wonderful future. So dust yourself off and get back in the saddle. You still have the option of applying to other colleges for their Regular Decision or Rolling deadlines. Don't quit now... tap into your inner resilience and keep going.

3. Do some analysis of what went wrong this time. Then set about doing it differently. Was that school a long shot because of your credentials? Do you have newer, better credentials that you can showcase for your next batch of schools? Could you have done a better job telling your story? Do you have a more realistic list of schools to pursue for the next batch? Did you lose steam when you got to the application forms themselves? What can you do better or differently or more realistically going forward? Do you need to take a gap year to fix bigger problems? Consider both your short-term and long-term options. Read this excellent post by Jon Boeckenstedt to find out why you might have been denied.
   

Next week we’ll cover some tips for applications that have been DEFERRED.

Enjoy the holidays, you deserve a break!