This year, early admission applications met record highs. But if your child is one of the millions of students who either didn’t apply early or who didn’t get accepted in the early admission round, the college application season is far from over. Hundreds of colleges and universities have regular admission deadlines right around the corner. If your child is one of the many who wait until the last moment to submit college applications, read on to learn how to avoid common deadly application mistakes.
Electronic applications have become the norm in the college admissions field. These applications offer many benefits, but the online application format often causes students to commit careless errors. Particularly when students are in a rush, mistakes abound. To avoid making costly mistakes, students should:
1. Read the instructions. No college wants a student who can’t follow directions. Read and follow the instructions carefully, even if the application seems straightforward.
2. Apply sooner rather than later. Filling out an application on the day it’s due is a common mistake. Technology is great, but it is far from perfect: Computers crash, wifi networks fail, servers slow down. Why risk missing the application deadline due to a techno-glitch?
3. Use a current and valid email address. Many students enter an invalid or ancient email address. Colleges will use this address to communicate with applicants – if you want to hear back from a college, make sure to use a valid email address that is frequently checked.
4. Disable pop-up blockers. Electronic applications often have application sections that appear in a pop-up window. If you can’t see the pop-ups, you won’t know to fill these parts out. And if you don’t fill the application out entirely, you won’t get in.
5. Save their work. Most applications take a good long while to complete. They also have security features which automatically time out the application after a certain length of time. Be sure to save often or you risk losing all of your hard work.
6. Use only the navigation buttons embedded in the application. Don’t use your browser’s back button or you risk losing all of your work. Only use the navigation buttons in the application itself. You’ll save yourself a world of trouble.
7. Sign the document. Most electronic applications are invalid until the electronic signature has been verified. Why waste hours completing an application that will never be submitted to your schools?
8. Proofread. Several times. Very carefully. The biggest and worst mistake a student can make, whether on paper or online, is to not carefully proofread the application before submitting it. Particularly on e-applications, typos and mistakes abound. You might select the wrong option in a drop down menu (i.e. selecting Canada instead of the U.S. as country of residence) or put the wrong birthday in the application. Careless mistakes like this imply that you are a routinely careless person – not the ideal message to send to potential colleges.
9. Complete every single section. Incomplete applications may not even be reviewed, and if they are then they don’t send a very positive message about the applicant.
10. Follow up on fees and supplements. Submitting the application is just the first step. Your file will remain incomplete until all fees and supplementary materials (including essays, recommendations, etc.) are submitted. Even once you send the required materials, you should follow up to be sure they are received by the colleges. “It got lost in the mail” is not a good excuse for an incomplete application file.
The last mistake that students tend to make is refusing to ask for help. Any question, no matter how small or simple it may seem, is worth investigating. Not sure whether to list a certain extracurricular activity? Not sure how to explain a bad grade or a disciplinary action? Ask! Whether students seek help from a school guidance counselor or from an outside source such as C2 Education’s college admissions counselors (www.c2educate.com), help is always available when you need it. Don’t let stubborn self-sufficiency ruin your chances for admission when you can get the help you need.

Author: c2educate

This author has published 2 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon.