Articles » Applying to College:
What to do After You’ve Been Accepted or Rejected to a College
Every spring, anxious high school seniors check their mailbox – and these days, increasingly, their e-mail inbox – for news from their chosen colleges. Sometimes it’s good news, sometimes bad. Here’s what to do when the notices start to arrive, whether they’re fat acceptance packets or thin rejection letters.
YOU’RE IN
After you get done screaming and jumping up and down at the sight of that large envelope with a college’s return address on it, open it and read carefully. Important things to note will include:
• Have you been accepted to the school or program you wanted? Colleges are big places – you may have gotten into your top choice institution, but it’s possible the astrophysics program turned you down.
• Are there deadlines mentioned? Take careful note of these. The most important will be the deadline for accepting the offer.
If you have multiple applications out, the timing can be tricky. You may get an acceptance notice from a college that isn’t your top choice, and then have to hope for word from your favorite before you hit the first responder’s deadline.
• Show me the money. What financial aid is the school offering you? This information may be included in your packet. If not, inquire.
• Get out your datebook. Be sure to take note of dates for orientation, campus tours or other events you might want to make.
• Fill out the forms. Your packet may include paperwork to help you get set up on campus. And if you return that housing form promptly, you’ll up your odds of getting a cool roommate.
DEALING WITH REJECTION
If you’re rejected by a school you’d kill to attend, you have a few options:
• Investigate. Double check with the college, especially if you think you met their criteria for admission. Mistakes can happen.
• Read the letter carefully. Does it sound final, or does it offer some hope of reapplying or transferring in from community college if you get good grades? Colleges send different types of rejections to different students. If your letter seems hopeful, talk with college admissions staff to see if you can change their mind, or maybe lay plans to come in as a junior.
• Appeal. If you think you’ve been unfairly rejected, inquire as to whether you can appeal. Some colleges don’t allow appeals, but others do, especially if you have new information to add. If, for instance, your last-semester grades are shaping up as straight A’s and that will raise your GPA, or your family situation has changed, maybe you can get the college to look at you again.
Business reporter Carol Tice has written frequently on college topics for the Seattle Times.
