Submitting your application is just one step in the admissions process. After submitting your application, watch for a confirmation email from the college. Confirmation emails are typically sent within three or four days of submitting your application.
ALSO ….. If you are submitting your application via the Common Application (or any other application) confirm that it was truly submitted and subsequently downloaded by the college. If you are submitting via the Common Application you can check on the Dashboard. If the college has a two-part submission (e.g. Common App and Writing Section), you will need to submit each part separately. Paying your application fee is not enough, you MUST follow the post-payment instructions.
CONFIRMING THAT YOUR APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED BY THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE IS NOT ENOUGH
*** You must make sure that your application is complete. *****
Colleges have various ways (such as Status Portals) of alerting applicants to missing documents and test scores.
Some colleges allow students to self-report test scores in the portal. For colleges that allow self-reporting of test scores, if you elect to self-report, it must be done so in the manner prescribed by the college (often through the school’s application portal). IMPORTANT: Self-reporting in the Common App is usually NOT the way college’s permit scores to be self-reported.
Students must be proactive in using these tools!
During the application season, it is not unusual for there to be a lag (sometimes a week or more) between the time the admissions office receives documents and scores and when they are checked in. THEREFORE it is important for students to follow up on their applications until they are deemed complete.
Many colleges have a Status Portal for applicants to use during the admissions process. Applicants typically gain Portal access after they apply and usually receive an email with a temporary PIN and instructions for establishing an account. Students are urged to record Status Portal web addresses and login credentials for each college in a login spreadsheet.
While functionality and design vary by institution, Status Portals are typically used during the admissions process for applicants to:
- Update their email address, mailing address, and other contact information
- View their personalized application checklist and check for missing information and documents
- Confirm that official testing information (when required) has been received
- Check for an admissions decision
- Upload additional documents
- Self-report test scores
- Link supporting documentation (e.g. SSAR for UF and FSU; SPARK for UCF)
- Withdraw application (e.g. applicant was accepted to ED school)
- Request a new password
If you do not receive a confirmation email within three days of submitting your application, be sure to check your ‘junk mail’ folder. Some email services mistakenly filter admissions messages as junk. Also, ensure that you have clicked ‘Submit’ on the Common Application or Coalition Application or another application site when submitting your application. Some students overlook this necessary final step after completing their application online.