<p>OK, apps are (almost) over. There are two more things t take care of:</p>
<li>To check whether all schools got everything. How long should you wait before trying to reach every school? DD now realizes that half the schools have not even sent her PINs/IDs, etc. Those that sent have half the documents missing. Checking all this stuff on a daily basis and then calling takes A LOT of time and ends with a generic advice to wait. What would be a wise decision assuming she applied everywhere close to Jan 1 deadline:</li>
<li>To wait for two-three weeks without doing anything and then check everything and hope that almost everything is in place? How long to wait? Can it get too late to submit missing parts if those are not strictly required? How frequently things are lost on average? Can incomplete app hurt interview chances? Do colleges first review earlier apps and those who applied late are not reviewed till Feb at least?</li>
<li><p>To keep checking, colling, E-mailing? Will it be over in a week for most schools or will it be a nightly entertainment for the next month?</p></li>
<li><p>Finish contacting colleges. When it becomes too late for campus visits (so that admissions learn about them if they check)? Is early Feb still OK? DD has two upcoming weekends fully booked. Also, how important is it to “visit” colleges that are within an hour from our home. Should not going on a campus tour just mean that she has been there may times? Like should a New Yorker take an official campus tour of Columbia?</p></li>
</ol>
All of my D’s schools emailed her a log-in once they received the first part of her application. She could then check online regularly. They also emailed her if they didn’t have something. (In each case, it was there, but hadn’t been processed yet.) So she never had to check.
Same thing is happening now to S who is in the middle of grad school aps.
This seems to be a pretty common way of doing things, so have your D check for that first. It seems it could be a negative if you pester the Adm. office when they’ve already set up an alternate route of communication. If you decide to call, make sure it is your D who does the calling. I remember taking D to visit Denison, and while sitting in the admissions office, overheard the secretary scolding a parent on the phone because she called rather than her D.</p>
<ol>
<li> I do think it’s important to visit schools that are within a couple hours. I remember a couple schools even telling us this - if you live close by and haven’t visited, it is considered a negative. Schools that are further away make allowances. If you didn’t visit because your D has been there before, like for a HS event, that should have been mentioned somewhere on the application (like, in the “why this school?” section). If you plan to visit, set up the appointment soon (even if the visit date is further away.) I think they have access to who is scheduled to visit, even if the visit hasn’t been completed.</li>
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<p>Most of the big top universities like the Ivy’s don’t track whether you’ve visited or not, so it makes no difference, but smaller colleges do care. I think if you can find the Common Data sets there’s a column labeled “demonstrated interest” and you can see if a college cares or not.</p>
<p>And remember that some schools don’t have a PIN/password system and don’t use online application status pages - two of my d’s schools didn’t. But I wouldn’t call before mid-February if they don’t contact you. It takes quite a bit of time not only to open the mail, sort it, file it, and then update the student’s system. They update their systems first.</p>
<p>Yes, if you’re a first-timer on FAFSA, jump to begin your taxes ASAP so the returns are in place to copy. Before we began sending kids to college, we’d begin figuring out annual taxes around April 1 … no more of that. Now we sound like those people who used to annoy us, the ones who begin filing around Jan 1 and tell you all about their refunds in late winter…SO that’s something to do.</p>
<p>I recall letting everything sit around 3 weeks after Jan 1, then I’d start hearing from this or that college. Some had a system, some didn’t. This kept me from thinking I had to contact 8 places at once during January. </p>
<p>I found each one had its own pattern, so just don’t generalize from one school to another. Some sent emails saying, “X” document is missing. Others let S look online to review their checklist. </p>
<p>I’d refold a closet or something until around Jan. 20, then see what’s been sent and what else you need to have him pursue.</p>
<p>I did call after missing documents sometimes, had S call other times, depending on school timing and my mood. I take note of that Denison secretary, but honestly don’t believe it hurts the kid’s actual file to have a parent call in during daytime hours to ask, “Did the missing letter of recommendation from the 2nd teacher arrive yet?” I think it helps kids to learn to make these calls, so have them do a few, but don’t bust a gasket over whether or not they call in an office question from their school or you do it from your office. Life’s too short.</p>
<p>Thank you!
My impression is that those IDs/PINs have not arrived yet (either because DD didn’t do pre-app or because it was not an option in her schools). There is still a chance that they will show up in the mail. The question is how long to wait before bugging the Admissions (all her apps were electronic, and all other materials from school were mailed at least several days before Christmas). Should she wait for couple weeks (like till Friday) or till February? Will she ever be able to check that they have recs including the additional ones (many schooles allowed three recs, but required less)? </p>
<p>As for FAFSA: does it mean that we need this year taxes finished by FAFSA deadline ??? I thought last year’s info was OK. What if we do not get 2007 all W2s by then? (they usually show up much later) Does contacting your emplyer usually help?</p>
<p>^^H filled out the Fafsa’s around here, but as I understand it, he needed to complete his tax return earlier than we’d been used to. Freshman year has the earliest deadline, compared to their upperclassmen years. </p>
<p>It is all “last year’s info,” but he needed to assemble it and prepare the return in time to copy it and file with the FAFSA by Fafsa’s deadlines. He found it challenging, but did it. Paperwork is his biggest obstacle in life, so I assume he really needed to get that taxform actually DONE, rather than just make it a faux-deadline. I don’t think he could just transfer the numbers, in other words; I THOUGHT he had to actually file the completed tax form and xerox it, too. If others correct me, I have no ego in this whatsoever to be wrong. </p>
<p>The rule for employers is to have the w-2’s to you by Jan 30, but they don’t all comply so chasing them could be a good idea to tell them it matters this year, if you have “that” kind of employer who dawdles. I recall him contacting his employer, and it did help.</p>
<p>People who have investments are also supposed to have their info to you by Jan 1, but sometimes it comes late, and this can be tension. So if you can do anything ahead-of-time to request them to fax you that info, or whatever, that might be good.</p>
<p>You can also fill out the FAFSA with estimated amounts, indicating that 2007 taxes are still in “will file” status. That allows you to submit the FAFSA “on time”. Then you can amend the FAFSA with the real numbers when your taxes are completed. Most people can estimate pretty well.</p>
<p>We had to estimate last year, because our numbers were coming from Germany, on a completely different timetable. Then we had to file amendments, as well as a couple appeals of awards. Not fun, and we’re looking forward to having real documents to work with this year.</p>
no more of that. Now we sound like those people who used to annoy us, the ones who begin filing around Jan 1 and tell you all about their refunds in late winter…SO that’s something to do.</p>