Over the next few days, we will be going over what to do with each type of admission decision you may have received.

Hopefully, our tips will help you as you make your final college decision.

You were admitted!

The long wait paid off and you received the decision you were waiting for! Congratulations! Now comes the tough (or easy) part, making the final decision. Here are a few things you need to consider as you weigh your options.

Acceptance and financial aid:  

You should not be expected to deposit at a school without knowing what your financial aid package will look like. If you are still waiting to hear about financial aid, it is fine to call a school and inquire about the status of your financial aid application. Or you may have received your financial aid package and it is not what you were expecting. Some schools may allow you to appeal your financial aid decision, but be aware that not all schools are willing to bargain.

Pressure to deposit:  

Another situation you may be in is where schools are asking for a housing deposit as soon as possible in order to reserve a room on campus. Unfortunately this is the reality at some schools that have really tight housing situations. If you think there is a chance you will attend the school and are concerned about being able to live on campus, unfortunately you may have to fork over the deposit. Make sure you confirm with the admissions office that sending in a housing deposit is in fact necessary or ask if they assign housing based on a student’s deposit date.

One last visit:  

If you were admitted to a school, you may also be considering squeezing in one last visit before you make your decision. I highly recommend you do this if at all possible. Visiting a school as an admitted student can be a very different experience than visiting a school as a prospective applicant. You may have new, more specific questions to ask.

Now that you have been admitted, you should walk through campus and imagine what it would be like to be a student there. Cara’s post on Getting the Most Out of an Admitted Student Event may also be helpful.

Sending in the deposit: 

Once you have all of the information you need, you should be ready to send in your deposit. Most schools will ask that your deposit be postmarked by May 1^st. So how do you make that all important final decision?  

Here are some tips:

1. Spend some time really thinking about your options. Try to block out the rest of the world and really focus on what is the best opportunity for you.
2. While it is important to make the best choice for you, you still need to take parent’s advice into consideration. Sometimes there are monetary limitations on where you can attend. Learn what the limits are, then follow the advice above.
3. Make pro and con list. For most people, organizing their thoughts in visual way can help them make the decision.
4. Give yourself a deadline. Tell yourself that you will make a decision by a certain date and time. This will allow you to take the pressure off before the May 1st deadline.
5. If you really cannot decide, flip a coin. It may seem like a ridiculous way to make such an important decision, but you may be surprised how the outcome of a coin flip sheds some light on how you really feel about a particular school.

Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

The post Admission Decisions: The Acceptance Letter first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

1. First and foremost, you must RSVP, as in  “Yes, I’m coming!” – no later than May 1st.   Just like any party host, the college has to know what kinds of numbers to expect so that they can have enough food.

2. Don’t RSVP to more than one college. Just like when you were a kid, you can’t say yes to two birthday parties that are happening at the same time. That’s just bad form.

3. Tell your other invites (ie, other college acceptances), that you respectfully decline their invite. Of course you should be nice about it. Just in case you decide to transfer as a sophomore or junior. And always say thank you!

4. And finally, what to do about those pesky wait list invites? Those can be trickier.  After all, they are only inviting you if a bunch of other kids rsvp no. This is where you need to be honest with yourself. Do you really want to go to that party in the freezing cold of Maine? Or are you just waiting to see if they’ll send you an invite?  My advice: only hold onto the wait list for the colleges at which you would definitely attend. Otherwise, respectfully decline those as well.

Good luck. I hope you enjoy the party!

Juliet Giglio
Educational Consultant in Los Angeles

The post College Acceptance Etiquette first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

• “The Decision Is Here.  Now What?“ provides helpful information for next steps no matter what type of letter (or email) you received.
• If you are struggling to decided between two schools that you have been admitted to, check out:  “Still Haven’t Sent In Your Deposit?  Read This…“
• If financial aid is a major hang up in your final decision making process, look at:  “Need Help With Financial Aid?“
• Need some additional outside resources?  “Accepted, Wait Listed, or Denied- Helpful Articles” may help you find the information you are looking for.

Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
PS:  Don’t forget to breathe!  April 1st is still a week away!
 
 

The post April 1st Is Just Around the Corner.. first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

• 3 cups self rising flour
  
• 6 tbs sugar
• ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream (or milk if you desire)
• ¾ cup mini chocolate chips

Mix the flour and butter together. (easy, right?) Then add the cream and chocolate chips. (But don’t eat the chocolate chips while you’re doing this) Roll out the dough. Use the end of a small glass to cut out circle shaped scones. Bake them for about ten minutes at 400 degrees.
Simple and hardly time consuming! Nothing like the countless hours your teachers and counselors put into writing your letter of recommendation that cited you for being one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.
Juliet Giglio
Educational Consultant in Los Angeles, California

The post Remember To Thank Your Teachers For Their Letters of Recommendation! first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Payments while in school will be up to $160 per month. Payments after graduation will also go up, from $250 to $328 (but with a shorter repayment term of 15 instead of 30 years).

Some people will be up in arms about this “huge change” in student lending.

But I prefer to look at this is a healthy change: the student loan business in the past has been just as dodgy as the home mortgage business, and students and their families have been much too willing to take out larger loans than necessary to finance a quality college education.

The new Sallie Mae provisions may help reorient expectations. Of course, the changes won’t be without their negative consequences.

Some deserving students at the lower end of the socio-economic scale may have less access to funds. But these same students, if they are talented, also have access to greater need-based aid and Pell grants.

I think the biggest losers, actually, will be some of the third and fourth-tier private colleges that have ridden high in the past decade or so, due to the demographic bubble and the willingness of families to gorge themselves on student loans. Some tuition-driven colleges may find they have fewer students to fill their beds in the future.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

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The post New Student Loans Require Payments While in School first appeared on College Admission Counseling.