The RD application/Deferred EA part II deadline is just about to pass, and everyone now starts to get into the mindset of “Now what?”. Here are a few hints to get you through the next few weeks/months.
- Patience. Patience is key, as any deadline brings out a rush of supporting materials. We will receive tens of thousands of documents, and we need time to match these items up, enter them into our system, and have them show up on the myStatus page. The myStatus page is not a live feed, so if a teacher recommendation is added to your file right now, it will not show up until at least the next day. If documents were sent prior to you applying, it will take longer to match things up, as we need to do it by hand. As well, some items get split up when we receive a packet, such as a fee waiver form, as different steps need to be taken with different items. A fee waiver, for instance, needs to be handled like a financial transaction, and thus takes a little longer to enter into the system. Same with residency documents/permanent residency cards, etc. You do not need to call/email us if you do not see an item on your myStatus page. Give us 10 business days from when you applied or the document was sent (not requested but actually sent), whichever was later.
- Test Scores. We will take the January SAT for admissions review for this year, but that is the last exam we can use. In addition, you need to make sure to request any scores be sent to us by 1/31, as we have to keep on a timeline in order to get decisions out in a timely fashion.
- Timelines. Review the Timelines page on this blog, as it can give you more details on when things will occur. We do not have rolling freshman decisions, but instead have three decision release dates. One, the EA decision date in November, has already passed, another small group of admissions offers will go out for RD/deferred EA applicants who meet our Early Action admission criteria (see last year’s February post for details on this group), and our final decisions will go out in late March.
- Responsibility. While your parents, your HS counselor, and our office are here to help you with the application process, the ultimate responsibility for your application resides with you. Make sure that we have all the items needed for review, check your emails and myStatus page for details, and make sure that you have a complete application ready for us to review. The worst calls are always the ones from students where we were not able to make a decision, even with our reminder emails, phone blasts and text updates. Take care of your application.
- Scholarships. From about early December through mid-April, our office will be reviewing files and awarding scholarships to a limited number of admitted students. This is not a quick process, so please be patient as we do this. If you are awarded a scholarship, you will receive a letter in the mail, and email will be sent out, and a scholarship section will appear on your myStatus page. You do not need to call/email about this process, just have patience.
- Finish strong. Admission to any university does not end with an acceptance and a deposit. It ends after you graduate from high school, when we review your final transcript. Senior year is a time of celebration, but don’t take this to the extreme. We will be looking at senior grades and any new conduct issues, so make sure that you finish up your senior year academically and personally on the right note. I do not want to have to call you and ask why your grades tanked during the last semester, and I do not think you want to talk to me either. Keep on track with things.
Hopefully this help, and Go Dawgs!