Making the Final Decision on College Acceptances
A university campus building with students walking around in front.
May 1st is the universal decision date deadline for students to select admission to their top choice college and pay their first deposit. Here are some tips on how to make your decision when you have several offers on the table.
Early Decision I and II Are Binding: Remember that if you applied Early Decision (ED, EDI, or EDII) to a school and you have been accepted, you went into this application with the knowledge that this was a binding application. You must accept your admission to that institution, and withdraw all other applications. If you have been accepted to your ED school but still have some applications awaiting acceptance results, it is your responsibility to also withdraw those applications.
Compare Financial Aid Packages: Price is an important component of any college acceptance decision. Take your time when comparing financial aid packages to get a clear picture of the cost of each school. Each school will likely outline their financial aid package as well as your cost of attendance differently. They may or may not include: cost of tuition, cost of fees, room and board, and/or predicted materials costs (like books). Just because a certain school offered you the biggest scholarship does not mean they will be the most affordable school to you. And maybe you’re okay with that. Knowledge is power either way. Don’t forget to factor in potential travel expenses as well. A school that is 500 miles away may look to be the least expensive on paper, but you should factor in travel expenses into your equation (fuel costs, plane tickets, campus parking fees, etc).
Khan Academy’s 3-part series on comparing financial aid packages is a great way to explore how to compare financial aid packages.
Visit the Campus: Hopefully by now you have had the opportunity to visit all of the schools to which you have been accepted, but if not, prioritize that over the next month, even if you have to miss school to do so! The last thing you want to do is make a decision based on schools that you have not even visited in person. Campus vibes matter, a LOT! This is a very subjective measurement of how you will feel at this school for the next four years. You don’t want to go somewhere you have never visited, just as you don’t want to exclude a school from your list that you haven’t visited either.
Make a Handwritten Pros and Cons List: For each college you are considering, write out a pros and cons list. Write the name of the college at the top of a sheet of paper. Make two columns, one for pros and one for cons. Under the pros column, make a list of all of the things you like about the school. Under the cons column, list the things you dislike about the school. Hand writing this list is an important step in mindfulness that will allow you to more fully connect with each of the items you list.
Check the Stats : If you are still stumped, consider checking some stats for each school to paint a clear picture of the typical outcomes for students who go there. For example, what is the school’s retention or graduation rate? This will tell you what percentage of students stay at the school after their first year (vs. transferring or dropping out), and how many students graduate from the school who started out there. Another stat that may be interesting to you would be the job placement rate, particularly if you want to get onto your career path right after college. If you are interested in a professional track —medical or law school, for example— look into what kind of placement rates your schools have for post-graduate education.
Wishing you all the best of luck as you make your final decisions on where you will go in the fall. Please reach out and let me know what you decide!
