How to know the college got everything?

DianeR
Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:58:08 +0000

Some schools send you an ID number and you can check the completeness of your application online. Other schools tell you by postcard, email, or phone if something is missing. If it is, you can resubmit.

Depending on when you call and how many applications they are receiving, a school may not be able to tell you. It takes time to process that much paper. saint_paul’s experience seems pretty unusual – what I usually hear of is admission’s departments not being able to say on the phone and telling people in no uncertain terms NOT to call them. They have thousands of pieces of paper; they are not going to want to wade through them all looking for things relevant to one particular caller.

If the Swarthmore materials don’t discuss this subject, you can always call and ask if you will be notified if something is missing from the file. If they say yes, then relax. If they say no, then ask how and when you can confirm the completeness of the application. (My experience is that colleges DO tell you that stuff is missing, but I don’t have experience with all the thousands of schools in the US.)