How are we keeping track of everything in the application process (due dates, financial forms due, scholarship deadlines, etc)? I’m so scatterbrained/overwhelmed and wondering if anyone has a good system!
Spreadsheet!
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Do you have any links/favorite ones?
Just create a google sheets. Add columns of interest - whether school name, size, city. Obviously one column will be admissions deadline. Another scholarship deadline. One financial aid deadline - or go school by school and figure out…so and so may have a January 1 deadline but Nov 1 for scholarship. So then Nov 1 is your deadline.
Slow down….school by school…make sure you have the right info - before moving on.
Then sort your sheet by earliest to latest date.
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Google sheet.
Columns for application deadline, other deadlines, when to expect a decision, whether it needs official score report, recommenders, what sort of essays needed, arts supplement and deadline if different, etc.
Plus a column with a pulldown for “STATUS”: app started, app submitted, app received, portal setup. (I expect that a bit later in the process we’ll add some things to that status like accepted, deferred, etc.)
I admit that I really like color-coding stuff in these sheets too. 
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I think you need to slow down - and because you said you had a couple full rides given your NM Hispanic status, make sure you capture those first. Sometimes those have earlier dates.
So get those apps in and done.
And after you submit any app, once a week check your portal on each - to make sure no documents are missing. Every year someone comes on and said, they never gave me a decision because - there was something they didn’t submit.
So weekly check on each app to ensure it shows comoplete.
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We got an old fashioned paper calendar. We could clearly write what was needed…and when on that. And we could see the whole month, and turn the page and see the next month. We found that much easier than a spread sheet.
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You should create one that works best for you. Adding columns for each item due is a very good idea.
You can also add an extension to your Google Sheets to have it create calendar events for you.
The nice thing about Google Sheets is that you can also access it on your phone.
You can also include links to each school’s portal. This allows you to quickly check the status of your application and update your spreadsheet accordingly.
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There are helpful apps like college planner pro but that one is available only for college counselors. You might wanna look around for something similar. It will also give you teasers and reminders of dates and deadlines.
But you can’t include links to application portals, and you also can’t access all this information on the go (for example, when you’re at school and just confirmed with your counselor that rec letters were uploaded to school XYZ).
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Take a look at the College Board’s Big Futures dashboard.
Another thing to do, after you set up a spreadsheet, is to put tickler reminders on your electronic calendar to notify/remind you.
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No…but you can see all the deadlines clearly printed . In addition to the deadlines, we put notes days before as reminders to get things done by the deadlines.
I know many folks prefer computer or phone based ways to organize. But even my 30 something uses both a paper calendar and a white board calendar to keep events straight.
She has a lot of moving parts in her schedule…as do college applicants.
I think folks need to do what is best for them.
Absolutely! I also think it helps when people develop their own organizational system (whether it’s physical, electronic, or a combo) instead of using someone else’s premade spreadsheet or app.
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