<p>Definitely call and check to see if the files arrived. I am a big fan of CMU, but the process of my D’s application to their summer program was, um, messy. She sent everything very early and by certified mail, and got notification that everything had arrived. Later, she got a postcard saying that they had her application AND NOTHING ELSE. I called and they said to ignore the postcard, they had it all and a decision would be coming at such and such a time. No decision arrived. More weeks passed. Ignoring my trepidations about bothering CMU’s admissions office, I called again, and was told that a decision would honestly and truly be coming. Again, it did not come. I called AGAIN and was told to hold on. I could tell something was wrong. Turns out that my D’s file had, um, been misplaced! It was, as I recall, late March at this point and I was not happy, as they said that if they couldn’t find it, they would have to have us recreate the whole thing. I was trying to imagine doing that and hold onto my temper at the same time (it’s good practice for the college admissions process, ladies and gents!) when the woman on the other end asked me to please give them 24 hours to locate the file. I said that was reasonable and hung up. Four hours later, the admissions office called to say that the file had been on an adcom’s desk and they found it and my D was accepted! They were nice and very apologetic. Long story made longer: make sure to follow up. Don’t be too timid about checking. Stuff gets lost and no one cares as much about your kid’s file as your kid and you.</p>