Important Next Steps After College Acceptance – BigFuture (2024)

Steps to Take After College Acceptance Offers

If you've received acceptance letters from multiple colleges, congratulations! You should be excited that your hard work has paid off. The next step will be deciding which college is best for you.

First of all, don’t worry about choosing that one perfect college—there’s no such thing. College is what you make of it: What you do while you’re there matters more than the college name on your diploma. Here’s how to make your decision.

Get More Information About Each College After Receiving Acceptance Letters

You probably already gathered a lot of information about each of your college choices during the admissions process, but digging even deeper can help you make the best choice.

Ask the Right Questions

When making the ultimate college decision, it’s important to ask the right investigative questions about each of your choices to see which college fits you best. Questions you can ask include:

• How many first-year students return? How many students graduate?
• Does the college offer the majors I’m interested in?
• What can I do for fun?
• What kinds of students feel at home at this college?

Get Answers from Direct Sources

The best place to get an answer depends on the question. Here are some sources that can provide information:

• People who work at the college
• Current students at the college
• The college’s official website and its College Search profile

As you search for answers, it’s important to use only trustworthy sources of information and to recognize the difference between fact and opinion. While it definitely helps to hear current students’ personal opinions, a college’s official website and its admissions officers are often the best sources of factual information about that college.

Visit—or Revisit—the Campuses

If possible, check out a college's campus to get more information. If you can’t visit the campus, you might be able to find a virtual tour on the college's website that will provide insight. Another online option is to explore student videos on College Search to hear about student experiences on select campuses.

You can also call or email the college's admissions office with your questions. Ask if someone there can put you in touch with current students and recent graduates. Admissions office representatives, your high school counselor and teachers also may know students who graduated from your high school and now attend the college you have in mind.

Think Things Over

You've done the research and asked questions. Now it's time to check your own thoughts and feelings. Ask yourself questions like these:

• How did I feel when I was on campus at each college I visited?
• Which colleges best match my list of must-haves?
• At which colleges can I imagine myself as successful and happy?

Compare the Colleges

Use your new information to sort the colleges by what they offer and what you want. Make a list of the pros and cons of each college. You can also use College Search to compare up to three colleges side by side.

Compare Financial Aid Awards

This is an important step for many students. Once you’ve been accepted to the colleges of your choice, talk to your family about which ones work best for you financially. Together, you should make decisions about financial aid, such as whether you should take a student loan or a work-study job. As you compare financial aid awards, you might discover that a private college is just as affordable as a public college based on the amount you'll receive.

Make Your Acceptance Decision

You don’t have to decide overnight. Many colleges don’t expect to hear your final decision until May 1 (unless you applied as an early decision applicant), so you have some time to make up your mind. But remember that colleges are serious about reply deadlines. If you don’t send your deposit in time, you risk losing your place.

Respond to the Colleges That Admitted You

Once you’ve decided which college you want to attend, inform all the colleges that accepted you about your decision.

Respond to the college you’ve decided to attend

Make sure to send in the following items, via the online student portal or through email, by the deadline:

• Your acceptance letter
• A deposit
• A separate acceptance letter for financial aid if required
• Any other items as required by your specific college

Respond to the colleges whose offers you're declining

It’s important that you also send a brief email to the other colleges to thank them and turn down their offers. This frees up spots for other students.

Once you've made your final decision to attend your college of choice, your mission over the summer is to prepare for your first year as a college student.

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