Roadmap to College: Notified by Colleges and Admissions Decisions

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When Will I Be Notified by Colleges?

You will be notified by colleges at different times in your senior year, depending on how and when you applied. The chart below lists approximate dates for receiving decisions:

How Will I Be Notified?

There are several ways in which colleges inform you of their admission decision. There are no standardized methods for this important notification, so you can check with each college or your guidance counselor to find out how you will be notified. Possible options include:

• Mail: Some colleges still use good, old-fashioned snail mail.
• Phone: Some private colleges use the telephone to deliver good news.
• E-mail: You may receive an e-mail with your decision or you may be instructed to check your online account.
• College Web site’s online account: If you have set up an account and have been given a user name and password, you may be able to “check your status” on the college’s Web site in the admissions section. You should make sure to set up your account before decision notifications have begun to prevent any potential problems with logging in to your account.

Softening the Blow or Magnifying the Joy

Some online decisions are posted during the day, while students are still in school, which can be disruptive as well as upsetting to students who receive bad news. Because of this, many colleges post their decisions after 5:00 pm, when most students are home from school. Rejection letters are also getting a second look, as online rejections can at times be blunt and harsh. Some colleges are softening the language of rejection letters to alleviate some of the pain students may feel.

Alternatively, acceptances sent through the mail have become more ornate, with the goal of enticing students to accept a college’s offer. As many students are applying to more schools, colleges want to encourage you to attend their college by sending you “perks,” including T-shirts, posters, decals, and other college-specific souvenirs. Other colleges add a personal touch with links to celebratory videos, text messages, phone calls, and personalized letters.

What Are the Possible Admissions Decisions?

As we have discussed previously, applying early through rolling, early action, or early decision plans results in earlier notifications of college decisions. Notifications can consist of the following decisions:

• Rejection
• Deferred admission
• Conditional acceptance
• Acceptance
• Waitlist

Rejection

An outright rejection is a possible outcome from schools which were your “reach” schools or from schools where your credentials were below what the college was looking for. Once the decision is made and after your initial heartbreak, it is best to focus on hearing from other potential schools. There may be some schools which offer an appeals process, where you can ask for a re-evaluation of your application based on new or additional information. You can ask the admissions office if this is a possible course of action for you.