Keys to College Visit Success
January 28, 2024Congratulations! You have finally completed the application process. Now, the fun begins. The next steps are critical to getting accepted to the colleges you applied to. First, create a list of the colleges you still need to visit—schedule tours so you can complete all your visits before the middle of March. Wait to put a deposit on a college until all the returns are in, as there may be room to negotiate scholarship money. The deposit is due May 1st.
Set up your Student Portal: Each college will send an email to you with the student portal information. This info is wise to put on a document that you can save. Set-up your student portals right away and keep checking them every week. Certain colleges will want you to complete your SRAR or Self-Reported Academic Record. You must use your transcript and very accurately report your grades for each year of high school courses. If you took high school courses in eighth grade, you must report those, too. Include your senior year courses as in progress.
Marketing yourself: If you have already visited many of your colleges, now is the time to start a marketing campaign about your favorite subject …you! Your first step is to contact one of the colleges you applied to and find out who the admissions counselor is that covers your area. Be sure to get their phone number and email. Your next step is to compose a thoughtful email explaining how much you like to attend this college and how it will help propel your life forward. End your email with a question about your prospective major so that you can continue the correspondence in the future. This will open the door for future correspondence.
Visit all your colleges either in person or virtual:
- Plan to revisit your favorite colleges and ask for an interview. This will be an excellent opportunity to show that you are more than an application and a set of scores.
- When you revisit the college, try not to go on a tour but instead ask to meet with a professor in your hopeful major.
Student-Athletes: You should contact the coach of your sport and let them know that you applied and are eager to go to that college. Try to see the team at a competition and say hello to the coach again.
If you are Accepted: Now let the games begin!! First of all, congratulations on your acceptance!! While this will not be your last, more will come. Your acceptances will come online in a student portal. The college will send you the login info in an email. Set up your portals quickly. Keep track of your username and password, as critical information will be coming. Scholarship awards may also come in the student portal or your email.
If you get Deferred: Colleges are deciding on the early action and early decision applicants sometime between the middle of December and the end of January. If you receive notification that you are deferred, do not despair. Marketing yourself becomes critical at this point. This is the moment to send a copy of your first quarter school grades (make sure they are great!!) and a thoughtful email to the admissions office. Make sure you cc the admissions counselor who covers the county or city that you live in. Email admissions and include any volunteer work, clubs, and sports you are doing this year, along with an attachment of your current grades. Why you want to attend this college is of utmost importance, as well as what you can add to the college community. Read about the college on their website, review courses that interest you, and mention them in your email to admissions. You can quickly look up the email address of admission on the Internet. This email should go out no later than one week after a deferral.
