If your future college student has submitted their college applications, then colleges are trying to communicate with them. Students need to check their email on a weekly basis. Important things await in their inbox–acceptance letters, a list of items missing from their applications, potential scholarships, invitations for interviews….they will never know unless they look!
With an inbox full of emails from a variety of colleges—some that your high school senior applied to and others that are encouraging your child to apply, how do you keep everything organized? Pick a set day and time each week to review emails with your child. Within the general email account, create a folder for each college to which your child has applied. As emails from various colleges are read, file important emails accordingly so you can access them later if needed and delete those that are not relevant. Keep a notepad nearby to make a list of action items. Are there colleges that need to be contacted about missing items? Self Reported Academic Records (SRAR) that need to be completed? Test scores that need to be submitted?
Most initial emails from colleges will congratulate your child for applying while others will contain usernames and a PIN with a link for your future college student to create an account on the college’s portal. Through this portal your child may discover the status of their application or when to make a deposit to indicate they will attend among many other things. As your teen juggles usernames and passwords for the portals they are creating for the colleges they have applied to, keep track of them all by using Keychain or create a username and password spreadsheet in Google drive.
If for some reason a college needs to be contacted, the call should be made by your child. This is a great time for them to begin to practice communicating with colleges and become more comfortable in advocating for themselves. Every step of the college application process is an opportunity for your child to continue to prepare for college.
