College Decisions- Don’t Hold Your Breath

Do You Know Yet? Huh? Do Ya? When?

Oh goodness, we hope you braved the Thanksgiving holiday without too many questions about what you plan to do with the rest of your life. You are transitioning to adulthood and the college questions will be followed by engagement questions, baby questions, and career questions before you know it.

If you worked with us, most of your applications have been completed. You did a great job finishing the Common App and getting all of your applications in for the early round of decisions. Now you should enjoy yourself (unless you still have some regular decision applications and essays on the back burner). I bet you just cannot wait to hear the results of your hard work! There is no sense sitting around hitting the REFRESH button because most colleges and universities are not sharing their decisions until mid-December. So yeah, you have 2 weeks left to finish this semester strong, prepare for the holiday season and breathe.

You may receive a number of different decisions: accepted, denied,  or deferred. Usually, the first decisions will come via e-mail and you will find the formal information in the portal that was created for you when you applied. The best possible scenario would be to get an ACCEPTED to all of the schools where you burnt the midnight oil answering their questions about why you belong at their institution and how you would right one social injustice, but this is not a realistic situation.” If you are ACCEPTED, congratulations! Make sure you read every piece of the offer letter, which should include any Merit Aid offers and may include financial aid information and additional opportunities for scholarships as well. There is no rush to say yes to the dress. Take a moment and gather all of your application decisions and make a solid pro/con list. Go visit again! Do more research! This is a BIG decision and does not need to be made until May 1st, although the housing department will try to talk you into depositing ASAP so you get the best dorm. Also, many colleges and universities wait until the spring to award financial need-based aid. So hold your horses… we have some comparing to do.

Take a moment to review your list and understand that if any of the colleges where you applied has a 30% acceptance rate or lower, there is a good chance that you may not get in. These schools have been renamed from highly selective to highly rejective and if you do not make the cut, it is not a defining moment for you. If you are denied, it was simply not the school for you. Do not get upset if someone with a lower GPA or test scores got in and you did not. That does not mean a thing, and you don’t know the whole story. The holistic application process takes into account way more than just numbers. Families who worked with us this year should be very clear about where their student fits at each school and the likelihood of acceptance. We looked at Naviance, Score, class of 2021 stats, majors, and more to determine which schools are a better fit than others. A reach is just that…a reach. A Dream School is just that…a dream.

If you are denied, it’s game over. Let that school go and don’t think about it anymore.

A deferral is not a denial. Read our blog on how to handle getting deferred. There are specific steps outlined by each school regarding ways to show your continued interest in that particular school. Don’t go off the rails and call the admissions office or try to send 10 more letters of recommendation. We know you are amazing, your parents know you are amazing, and the university has many other amazing students applying, so take a minute and make a plan. For example, the University of Georgia has this page ready for any student who may have been notified of their deferral a few weeks ago.

We wish each of you the very best and gently remind you that there is always the Regular Admissions timeline if you fall in love with a school that you did not apply to this Fall.

Early Decision Notification Dates 2021-2022 for the Top 50 National Universities

Early Decision Notification Dates 2021-2022 for the Top 50 Liberal Arts College

Annapolis College Consulting has a long history of finding the right schools for our families. We believe that it is so important to go into the process with facts and clearly understand what fit means. Stick close to us on social media as we celebrate our students this winter. We are experts in the college transition.