Your College Advisor - Dec. 1, 2013: Have I been accepted?

Before I start this week's college column, I want to share with you an article I read in the fall 2013 issue of "The Journal of College Admission." The article was about the top stressors on students as they applied to colleges. The top two stressors are writing the college essay, noted by 71 percent of students, and taking the standardized tests, noted by 64 percent.

Hopefully you read our column on how to write a winning essay, and you know about one of our favorite websites, fairtest.org, which lists schools that do not prioritize standardized tests. There, we just took the two top stressors out of your college application process! If you missed the column on how to write a winning college essay, email me at patrestaino@optonline.net and I will be happy to send you a copy.

High school seniors who applied to college through an early decision or early action program should know their fate in the next week or so. For those who get accepted, congratulations are in order. The good news is the pressure is off. Knowing which college (most likely your first-choice school) is in your future certainly has a calming effect on the entire family.

Since early decision is binding, when you apply, you agree to attend the college. Therefore, if you applied to any schools through regular admissions, you must withdraw those applications. Inform your counselor that you were accepted by early decision and then write any letters to colleges that you already applied to withdrawing your application.

But what if you suffer from buyer's remorse or your financial aid package is less than you expected? Circumstances do change. However, think long and hard before you break an early decision contract. Some colleges do share this information. And since this reflects poorly on you, you jeopardize your chances of getting accepted to other schools.

But what happens if you don't get accepted by your early decision school? In most cases, you'll go into the regular admissions pool, so there is still the chance that you'll get into your first-choice school. If you waited to hear from your early decision school before applying to others, send in any applications that are ready or continue with your college search. The typical deadline for regular admissions ranges from Jan. 1 and onward. Know your deadlines.

If you get accepted through an early action program, you have choices. Since early action is not binding, students can apply early action to more than one school, as well as regular admissions. When you get accepted by an early action school, you can accept immediately or wait until the spring deadline (May 1), after you've heard from all of the colleges you applied to.

Even when you decide to wait until you hear from all of the schools, it's a relief knowing that college is in your future. Counselors get very busy this time of the year, so don't wait to bring them your applications. If your deadline is the beginning of January, your counselor needs to know now, not the first week in January when you come back from Christmas break.

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