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You submitted your college applications two hours ago:

click.

You have been productive ever since. Laundry is in the dryer, violin practice is over. You are heading towards the refrigerator for your third popsicle of the hour -

Oh my goddd you applied to college today! Great! Wohoo! It’s alllll over. But, wait, when are you going to hear back from the Admissions Office? Will they email you?  Do they have your correct address? Did you spell it correctly on the application? Go back and check. Phew, you’re fine. Hey, what if they defer you? What if you are on the waiting list? What if you get rejected? Can you kiss and make up with flowers?

In other words: Now what???!!!

First of all, relax. Post-application anxiety is common. Unfortunately, there is no cure…other than twiddling your thumbs and watching re-runs of Gossip Girl. As you wait, though, you might want to consider what could happen after you apply, and what you should do in each situation. The following sections explain the four potential possibilities you may confront after submitting your college applications. Read them. They will help you make decisions, take actions, and prepare yourself for the future.

Acceptance

This is the ideal scenario: you wake up one sunny morning, and a fat college envelope is in your mailbox. You rip it open, and see bright blue stars: they like you, they really like you! And they want you to study at their institution. You faint, scream, and cry. Then, you do three different victory dances, all in a row, one after the other… for three straight hours.

Yeah, college acceptance feels good. Typically, it comes in the form of a letter. The admissions office will send this document to you electronically and physically. The letter will congratulate you, and offer you a seat in the college. The letter will also contain important information about upcoming decisions and deadlines. You will be asked to choose a meal plan, reserve a dorm room, and fill out a roommate questionnaire.  You will also have to pay a deposit fee; this sum reserves your space in the college. The letter will also come with a New Students packet, which will give you more information about college life. If you applied for financial aid, you may also receive an awards letter. This financial document may be enclosed in the acceptance package, or it may be mailed to you sometime later.

If you receive admission in several colleges, you have a tough decision to make. Ultimately, you want to pick the college that is best suited for you. So, do some online research. Talk to your parents, friends, and counselors. Call the college itself for specific questions. In making your final selection, consider all aspects of the college: academics, resources, job opportunities, sports, extracurricular activities, financial aid – everything that matters and applies to you. Once you’ve made your final decision, get to work. Reply to the acceptance letter, and start the administrative processes. Pay your fees, select your classes, pick your dorm, etc. If you want to enroll in special programs, like learning communities, contact the school directly. If you are an international student, obtain the necessary forms from the school, and begin your visa application.

Deferment/Waitlisting

Sometimes, students who apply to college are deferred or waitlisted. In this sense, they are neither accepted nor rejected by the institution. Students who get deferred are Early Decision/Action candidates, whose applications will be reconsidered during the Regular Decision process. Students can also be waitlisted. If there are not enough students who enroll, the college will accept students from the waitlist. Receiving deferment, or being on the waitlist is hard. It means that you are hanging in there; you are not sure if you will get to go to  the college or not. In either case, you should not panic. If the college wanted to outright reject you, they would have done so. There is still hope for students who are deferred or waitlisted. You need to persevere, and work hard to gain admission into the college. This is what you need to do:

• Call the admissions office and ask them why you were deferred/waitlisted. Be respectful and diplomatic. Convey your deep desire to attend the college. Address weaknesses in your application. Ask if there is anything further that you can do to score a spot at the school. If you are waitlisted, ask what your priority number is. Then, try to gauge how likely you are to get accepted.  Finally, ask the office if/how you should follow up with them, to know whether or not you receive admission later.
• Try to stay in constant contact with the admissions office. This will show them how eager you are to join their college community.
• Write the admissions office a letter of continued interest. Tell them why you still really want to go to the college. Try to sound enthusiastic and sincere. The office wants to know how serious and invested you are in them.
• Update the admission office with new and improved information about you. Submit your latest SAT or ACT scores, mail them your mid-semester grades. Tell them about your new membership in a club; write about a new honor or award you received. You can also send them an additional letter of recommendation, and other supplemental materials. You want to provide the admissions office with a lot of resources. These tools will help them better understand you.
• At the same time, do not overwhelm or harass the admissions office. Fifteen phone calls a day will irritate them. Similarly, sending twenty four videos of you speaking Spanish is a terrible idea. Be smart about your supplemental materials. Just submit a few items that make you look really, really good.
• Ultimately, however, you still need to have a back up. Sometimes, deferred/waitlisted students get rejected. So, you need to have a safety, or other school that you could attend. Do not overlook this precaution. You want to try and get in somewhere.

Rejection

This is the worst scenario: you wake up one cloudy morning, and a flimsy college envelope is in your mailbox. You rip it open, and find a cruel letter: unfortunately, they cannot accept you. You’ve been denied. Your heart shatters to the floor: then, you faint. You wake up, hoping it was all a nightmare, but nope: the letter. is. still. there. You eat three tubs of ice-cream, and prop yourself on the couch, where you remain for the next two weeks. Yes, rejection hurts us all. But at some point, you need to get off that couch and pull yourself together. This is what you need to do:

• Take a deep breath, and just let the whole thing go. Don’t overanalyze the situation; dwelling in bouts of self-pity will get you nowhere. So do something else, and keep yourself occupied. Text your friends. Go fishing.
• Don’t take it too personally. Almost every student gets a rejection letter of some sort. You are not the only one. Also keep in mind that the college does not really know you. You are strong, intelligent, and capable. Your worth is not determined by a flimsy letter.
• Understand that rejection does not ruin your chances of success. If you work and study hard, you will do well, no matter where you go.
• Stay positive, and look at other schools. There are so many colleges in the sea! You can still have a great education and college experience elsewhere.
• If are still hung up on a certain school, remember that it isn’t over. You can always attend another college, and then reapply as a transfer student.
• If you get rejected by all of your colleges, don’t fret. You can attend community college, or take a gap year. There are always options to consider and pursue. Nothing is set in stone.

All the best, and hang in there!