They’re Admitted! Now What?

It’s that time of year when students begin receiving acceptance letters from the colleges and universities they applied to. Congratulations to your student! Now that these letters are coming in, it’s time to start making decisions.

The Acceptance Letter

Colleges and universities make a big deal about their acceptance letters. Most are actually large packets with lots of additional materials contained within. In fact, your student will often know they have been accepted when the packet arrives, often in the college’s colors. They should be proud, primarily because for four-year colleges, not every student who applies to your student’s college of choice gets in.

The first thing you and your student should do—after jumping up and down—is to read the acceptance letter and any financial award letter thoroughly. Even without their final award letter, they may see a merit award amount on their admissions letter. This amount represents funds the college is offering to your student based on both merit and need. The amount can vary widely. When our daughter received her acceptance letter from the school she eventually attended, it included a merit award of over $20,000, but given that tuition, room and board and fees totaled well over $50,000, the $20K they offered only made a dent in the cost. Her merit award amount from a public college in our state, on the other hand, was only $3,500, which probably represented the same proportion of that school’s total costs as the $20K did for the other school.

Side-by-Side

Once you’ve examined the letter and know what’s in it, ask your student about their preference. If this is their first choice school, the next stage is to make sure the family can pay for it. To the best of your collective ability, look at any and all proposed award mounts, including grants, loans and student employment and compare each school side by side. But beyond the financial piece, your student needs to know this is the right school. After all, for many students, it is all about the fit.

If necessary, they can make a chart of the important features they want in a college, such as size, atmosphere, location, etc. Making a comparison table like this encourage students to formulate questions they can ask admissions counselors. In fact, many colleges go into even higher recruitment gear once students are admitted. This is because they want admitted students to convert to enrolling, so the press to “yield” the highest percentage of students begins in earnest. Your student may receive more information and contacts from colleges now than when they applied since the percentage of admitted students who enroll is so important to colleges’ bottom lines. Take full advantage of that.

Making the Final Decision

There are many tools students can use besides the comparison table for making their final decision. In normal times, I’d strongly encourage a campus visit—or another campus visit if they’ve already had one. In times of a global pandemic, that may not be possible, as outlined in my post about alternatives to campus visits. I urge you and your student to use any and all avenues to make the final decision. If you are able to make a campus visit—real or virtual—feel free to ask your student the “1 to 10” question. “On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being it was created just for me and 1 being let’s go home now and skip the tour, how does this school feel to you?”

There is no magic formula for this. Students can decide on their school with little fanfare and just as often, they’re right. This may be a time when you simply trust your student and their decision.

Good luck!