Do Not Forget About the Final Steps to Earn Admission

Four years of staying up late to study for tests, write essays, prepare for the SAT or ACT on top of the games and recitals have finally led to this: submitting college applications. After your child hits ‘send’, do not forget about critical tasks to ensure that your child’s application is complete and can be reviewed by admissions officers.

​Many admissions offices practice rolling admissions—meaning that they review applications on a first come, first serve basis. What does this mean for your child’s applications? You want her application to be reviewed as soon as possible, when the most amount of spots remain to be awarded to applicants.
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After your child submits applications you will receive status checkers to verify what has been received and what is outstanding. Check these every few days until all required items are marked as received. Review the following to make sure the following are covered:

1. Determine Whether You Have to Report All Scores

Every college has a different policy when it comes to what scores you must send. Some schools allow you to pick and choose your highest scores, while others require a complete testing history. Before sending scores, determine what each school’s policy is for test histories. Do not worry if a school requires all tests and initial scores were lower than the final score. This is normal and most admissions officers focus on a student’s best score. Keep in mind many schools ‘super score’, meaning they let you pick and choose components from different tests for a final combined high score.

     2. Sending ACT Scores?

Go to www.act.org and send scores to each school. Note: public university systems, such as at the University of California, require you to submit test scores to each campus (i.e. UCLA and UCSB).  You can search for the schools directly in the site and send all scores in one batch or individually.

     3. Sending SAT Scores?

Go to www.collegeboard.org and send scores directly to each school.  Note: public university systems, such as at the University of California, require you to submit test scores to each campus (i.e. UCLA and UCSB).  You can search for the schools directly in the site and send all scores in one batch or individually. If your child took the ACT and the SAT Subject Tests, you will have to send both sets of test scores to each college.

     4. Sending Transcripts

Discuss with your school’s guidance counselor what system they use for transcript requests. Many schools take care of transcripts, while Parchment is widely used with public schools throughout the country. Make sure you follow the proper protocol to ensure that the transcripts are submitted in a timely manner.
 
Remember to tie up any and all loose ends so your hard work and determination shines in a timely manner.  Best of luck through the end of this process!