Exactly how do schools notify?

[Anonymous]

Back in the last generation we got packets in the mail. Some posts here make it seem like now it’s email or in the “portal” - is there a portal for every school or is this something in Common App?

Curious because electronic is faster, of course, but my DC rarely bothers to check email. I don’t know if school notifies parents as well simultaneously. Cannot fathom a steady drumbeat of asking DC, “any news?”

[Anonymous]

Usually the kid gets an email telling them to check the portal. It’s not as tactile as a nice heavy envelope, but acceptances often have cute confetti, and a nice packet might show up in the mail a few days later.

One thing to be aware of — the applicant must set up a portal for each school they apply to! It’s not automatic. There’s usually an email that invites them to do this after the application has been submitted. It’s pretty important to do this right away, as this is where schools will notify if any application pieces are missing (which they sometimes can be).

[Anonymous]

Thank you!!!

[Anonymous]

I had my students password to each portal.
We had agreed that we would not open any info - rather it was to help given it was fragmented and there was a lot going on.
For example, some schools have extra steps once you submit - like Temple requesting you enter your transcript into another tool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the last generation we got packets in the mail. Some posts here make it seem like now it’s email or in the “portal” - is there a portal for every school or is this something in Common App?

Curious because electronic is faster, of course, but my DC rarely bothers to check email. I don’t know if school notifies parents as well simultaneously. Cannot fathom a steady drumbeat of asking DC, “any news?”

If you follow the schools admissions accounts on IG, they generally love notifying the public when decisions are out. You can then nudge your student to check email. Obviously different with rolling admissions.

[Anonymous]

Your kid must check their email. It's not an option.

[Anonymous]

If you know the date of decision release from the college's posts on social media, encourage your student to check the portal.

Usually you can see when decisions have been released by keeping an eye on reddit A2C. See the Decision Calendar and Decision Megathreads in the right sidebar. There aren't any yet for this fall's admission season, but there will be by December.

[Anonymous]

^Also, typically decision release occurs late in the day/early evening.

[Anonymous]

This is a good lesson in adulting. Make them set up the portal. Make them check their college-dedicated email account once a week. (This is why it’s a good idea to have a Gmail just for college stuff, so it won’t get lost in the shuffle.)

Emphasize that if they do not stay on top of this, they will miss important deadlines (application pieces, acceptances, housing choices, tuition due dates, etc.) and spend the next year living in your basement.

[Anonymous]

Almost always by an email to check the portal. Email is a way of life and part of adulthood. Colleges don't send notifications to Insta or Snapchat. Honestly, if you as a parent have to manage this for a prospective student then going away to college might need to be reconsidered.

[Anonymous]

The date and time that decisions are being released by a school in their portal will be known to students via social media. The email part is largely irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Most informed via the portal on the day they said decisions would be available. A few might have sent an email with a link to the acceptance but my DS rarely checked his email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a good lesson in adulting. Make them set up the portal. Make them check their college-dedicated email account once a week. (This is why it’s a good idea to have a Gmail just for college stuff, so it won’t get lost in the shuffle.)

Emphasize that if they do not stay on top of this, they will miss important deadlines (application pieces, acceptances, housing choices, tuition due dates, etc.) and spend the next year living in your basement.

+1 do not enable them by having all the logins and doing it for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^Also, typically decision release occurs late in the day/early evening.

Last year my child's school was Sunday morning.

[Anonymous]

I know a few kids who missed admissions news (and drove their parents crazy) because they weren’t checking email and/or lost track of passwords. This is the time to make your kid start regularly checking email and keep track of passwords.