Regular Decision?
The time has come for students to hear back from colleges…
Some students have applied Early Decision instead of Early Action, and there are more opportunities and timelines depending on the college…
Colleges have received thousands of applications and the increase in the volume is in large part due to today’s technology and the ease of submitting. In the past, students would mail in their applications and focus on their top choices - the pace was just as important, but slower than today. Understandably, so much tension and stress surround this process and the associated timeframes.
I came across this writing from my colleague Evan Forster (Forster Thomas), and I wanted to share it - this really says it all....
So, you just got moved from Early Decision to Regular Decision. CONGRATULATIONS! Yes! That’s right. “CONGRATULATIONS!” Why? The alternative could’ve been much worse; You could have been rejected outright. Now, you are still in the running. And it’s likely that you are on the top of the RD list because your ED College knows you are serious about saying “Yes” if they accept you.
Why is that SO IMPORTANT? It’s all about yield. For the most part, all colleges and universities are very careful to make sure that a candidate will say “yes” to an acceptance offer. While Harvard began doing this in the 1950s, most schools followed suit in the 1980s and, by 1990, almost every college or university was playing the ED/EA game to be as high as possible on U.S. News Best Colleges list.
So now what? You got pushed to Regular Decision. For now, there is absolutely NOTHING to do. Admissions Offices are either still closed for the holidays and/or slammed with all of the new regular decision applications that are spilling into their inboxes in early January. For now, take a week to deal with the disappointment, sadness, and anger, then it’s time to snap out of it and get to work. Here’s what you do:
Send a SHORT update email to your college *regional admissions officer sometime in late January or early February that includes the following:
Reconfirm that XYZ College/University is still your number-one choice.
Give an update about a class or two that you are doing really well in and/or update the admissions officer on your higher GPA in that class overall.
If you don’t have the official GPA transcript yet, that’s ok. Estimate it, but make sure you’re telling them that this is your estimate.
Write a brief sentence or two about a new club or organization that you are involved in and/or a new accomplishment of yours that occurred since your original submission. This is the heart of this email.
If you’re not doing anything new, this is the time to get off your butt and get more involved.
As you come to the final paragraph, ask if you can do anything to bolster your candidacy.
If possible, meaning IF COVID ALLOWS and the campus is open to visits, we highly recommend that you visit campus (even if you have done so already).
Tell the admissions officer when you will be on campus and that you would love to pop in and say a “very quick” hello.
Finally, let the admissions officer know that you know how busy they are at this time of year and finish with, “Thank you for taking the time to read this email. Again, XYZ College/University remains my number-one choice — no matter what!”
*You can find your admissions officer and get their email by calling the admissions office and asking who handles your high school. It’s no big deal.