It’s more important than ever that college applicants remember to submit every last component of their applications. Fortunately, it’s also easier than ever to do so. Students these days don’t know the logistical nightmare of snail-mail applications. Between the hassle of packaging and shipping, the uncertainty of whether everything you’ve worked so hard on has made it into the right hands, and the difficulties of correcting a mistake or sending multiple components over several days, submitting college applications used to be a time-intensive process that had to be done over and over again with each new school. The digital application portals of today make this not-so-distant past seem like the Stone Age!

Online Application Portals Give You No Excuse to Forget a Part of Your Application

Almost every top school in the nation receives applications through The Common Application or the Coalition for College Application. As deadlines approach, these schools will send you reminders to fill in the gaps on your application, so check each application portal frequently! Even schools with their own unique application system, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University, still maintain portals that make it easier for students to remember to submit something. When deadlines are closing in, students and families should check in on their applications and fill in any missing information with a lot of time to spare. You’re prone to making errors when you rush at the last minute.

Sometimes, students must remember to send in those pesky PDFs of answers to individual college supplements (Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers is ever vigilant, catching such mistakes before they can wreak havoc on our clients’ chances). Once everything is submitted, check your school’s application portal to see if your materials have been received. It might take a few days for everything to be processed, so don’t panic if your prospective school tells you something is missing right after you click submit. Double-check that you’ve covered all of your bases. If your transcripts are missing, talk to your school counselor. If a teacher recommendation is late, chat with your teacher after class. And if there is a mistake on the college’s end, don’t hesitate to call the admissions reception desk (though be sure to always be nice about it!).

What to Do When Your Letters of Recommendation Aren’t In On Time

It’s okay if your letters of recommendation arrive a few days after you’ve submitted your application. You can see through The Common Application whether your teachers have submitted them. Some students or families freak out when their teacher has dragged their feet on their letters, but colleges will not hold this tardiness against you. 

Nonetheless, you should check in with your teachers and ensure they can complete their recommendations promptly. The same goes for counselor recommendations. Sometimes, teachers need a little extra push to set them on the right track as they navigate their busy schedules. But if you’ve done your homework by choosing the right recommenders during the spring of your junior year, you should be in good shape, as you’ve given your teachers plenty of time to formulate their responses.

Finishing Up College Applications is All in the Details

As you dot all your Ts and cross all your Is in preparation for submission, ensure you remember all minor details. Have you filled out every last question in the family section? Do you have all of your application deadlines on a spreadsheet, and have you ensured you are up to date? And when it comes time to click submit, has the credit card on file for paying your application fee been put in correctly? Is it expired? These problems occur more than one might think! Don’t drive yourself crazy by quadruple-checking these details, but certainly check everything over at least once before you call it a day.

You’ll thank yourself later when this meticulous attention to detail pays off with an acceptance to the highly selective college of your dreams!