By now, you’ve probably heard back from most, if not all, of the colleges you applied to. You may not have been offered admission everywhere, but you’ve probably got a few acceptances under your belt. As May 1 approaches, here is our advice for how to handle your college acceptances.
1) Celebrate! You worked hard, and deserve all of your success.
2) Prepare to be recruited. When a college admits you, they want you to enroll, and they will do their best to make you feel wanted. Expect invitations to visit campus and phone calls or letters from current students; some schools will even send you t-shirts, scarves, or posters. Take advantage of opportunities to meet with students, spend the night in a dormitory, and don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions.
3) Visit campus. Many colleges have programs just for admitted students. These programs often include specialized facilities tours, opportunities to attend classes, panels with current students, faculty, and administrators, an overnight stay in the dorms, and the chance to meet hundreds of your potential future classmates. Even if you can’t go to an admitted student event (or don’t want to), you can still have a productive visit. Be sure to let the admissions office know you’re an admitted student, and ask what you can do while you’re on campus.
4) Focus on the schools to which you were admitted. You may have been offered a spot on a waitlist or two, and they may be schools that you’re really excited about. That’s okay. Let those schools know you’re still interested, and accept the spot on the waitlist. However, you most likely won’t be hearing back from them until after May 1, and you’ll have to submit an enrollment deposit somewhere by then, so focus your energy on the schools that admitted you. Those schools are excited about you, and would love for you to attend! Boost your ego and spend some time with people who think you’re awesome.
5) Keep up with your schoolwork! Don’t think that just because you’ve been admitted to college that you can stop doing well in school. Colleges still need to see your final transcript, and they can rescind admission offers if your academic performance drops significantly.
6) You can change your mind. You may have had your heart set on College X since fall of junior year, and thrilled to have been offered admission, but maybe you developed a great rapport with a current student at another college, or College X’s admitted student program was less than thrilling. It’s really okay! You have until May 1 to submit an enrollment deposit, so feel free to take that time to figure out where you’ll be happiest. Remember – you want to make the best decision for you and your family, and not necessarily the decision everyone expects you to make.
Congratulations on your acceptances, and best of luck in making your decision!
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