Checking and Completing Your College Applications (February Memo)
Now is the time of year when you should be checking that your applications are complete for schools with January 1 January 15 deadlines. If these colleges have not informed you that your application is complete, you should check with them to make sure they have received all the necessary parts of your application.
How?
Send an e-mail to your schools with the following message (you can just cut and paste the body of this message):
Dear _____________ (college name) Admissions Office:
My name is _______________ and I’m a senior at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. I am writing to check the status of my application. Please let me know if I need to follow up on resending any parts of my application. I know you are very busy at this time of year so thank you for taking the time to check on my application.
My social security number is ____________ . (optional)
My birth date is ___________________.
My school code is 120150.
Thanks again, ________________ (your name)
Later, you will want to do this same check for schools with February deadlines.
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my SAT, ACT, or TOEFL scores?
Call the testing agency or go to the online site to get proof that you sent them. If necessary, you might have to resend the scores but the testing agencies might not charge you if you have proof that you paid the first time. In an emergency, College Counseling will flex its powerful muscles and help fix the problem. If we have a copy of your official scores and there is a time crunch, we can usually fax the scores to the college for you.
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my teacher recommendation(s)?
Explain the situation to your teacher. Do this in a polite and respectful fashion. In almost every instance, the teachers already have mailed the recommendation letter and form and the colleges have not processed the materials. If this is the case, e-mail your college to let them know that you have confirmed that your teacher recommendation was sent. Ask them if you should ask your teacher to resend it. Usually this e-mail elicits a message: “We checked again and your application is now complete.” If they advise you to resend the recommendation, your teacher should fax and mail a second copy of their letter to the colleges. Remember, you are usually asking the teacher to do something for the second time. Do not assume that they did not send your letter!
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my school report and high school transcript?
If you did your official requests properly, College Counseling has absolutely, positively mailed all of your materials for January 1 and January 15 deadlines. The colleges often send their notifications of missing materials before they have finished processing their mail. While this is frustrating, it comes with the territory and your friendly college counselors are used to dealing with it. After you have confirmed with Mrs. Brotman that we sent your school report and transcript, you should e-mail the college back and tell them that your materials were sent but you would be happy to have them sent again. Usually, this elicits a message that says: “We have checked again, and your application is complete.” If not, College Counseling will fax and mail your materials for a second or even third time.
If you hear that you are missing materials, you should resolve the situation or resubmit the materials within one week. Colleges are used to having to ask students to resubmit materials and they add in an extra week or two to their decision process to take care of this situation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please come see us in college counseling. Good luck with your college applications. We are rooting for you! Mr. Kelsey, Mrs. Montgomery, and Mrs. Brotman
How?
Send an e-mail to your schools with the following message (you can just cut and paste the body of this message):
Dear _____________ (college name) Admissions Office:
My name is _______________ and I’m a senior at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. I am writing to check the status of my application. Please let me know if I need to follow up on resending any parts of my application. I know you are very busy at this time of year so thank you for taking the time to check on my application.
My social security number is ____________ . (optional)
My birth date is ___________________.
My school code is 120150.
Thanks again, ________________ (your name)
Later, you will want to do this same check for schools with February deadlines.
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my SAT, ACT, or TOEFL scores?
Call the testing agency or go to the online site to get proof that you sent them. If necessary, you might have to resend the scores but the testing agencies might not charge you if you have proof that you paid the first time. In an emergency, College Counseling will flex its powerful muscles and help fix the problem. If we have a copy of your official scores and there is a time crunch, we can usually fax the scores to the college for you.
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my teacher recommendation(s)?
Explain the situation to your teacher. Do this in a polite and respectful fashion. In almost every instance, the teachers already have mailed the recommendation letter and form and the colleges have not processed the materials. If this is the case, e-mail your college to let them know that you have confirmed that your teacher recommendation was sent. Ask them if you should ask your teacher to resend it. Usually this e-mail elicits a message: “We checked again and your application is now complete.” If they advise you to resend the recommendation, your teacher should fax and mail a second copy of their letter to the colleges. Remember, you are usually asking the teacher to do something for the second time. Do not assume that they did not send your letter!
What do I do if they SAY they are missing my school report and high school transcript?
If you did your official requests properly, College Counseling has absolutely, positively mailed all of your materials for January 1 and January 15 deadlines. The colleges often send their notifications of missing materials before they have finished processing their mail. While this is frustrating, it comes with the territory and your friendly college counselors are used to dealing with it. After you have confirmed with Mrs. Brotman that we sent your school report and transcript, you should e-mail the college back and tell them that your materials were sent but you would be happy to have them sent again. Usually, this elicits a message that says: “We have checked again, and your application is complete.” If not, College Counseling will fax and mail your materials for a second or even third time.
If you hear that you are missing materials, you should resolve the situation or resubmit the materials within one week. Colleges are used to having to ask students to resubmit materials and they add in an extra week or two to their decision process to take care of this situation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please come see us in college counseling. Good luck with your college applications. We are rooting for you! Mr. Kelsey, Mrs. Montgomery, and Mrs. Brotman