“Check Your Email”

AFTER submitting a college application, each admissions office emails each student an Applicant Portal, an online dashboard showing all required information has been received. Yet, many teenagers notoriously don’t check their email, or often they’ll overlook an Applicant Portal as a promotional ad for the university—since the sender’s address is the admissions office. 

As college admissions officers may only communicate with applicants through the Applicant Portal, students may miss requests for additional information, or be unaware of missing supplemental information, like transcripts or letters of recommendation—thus not completing their application—which may result in their application being rescinded from consideration. 

Also, in the Applicant Portal, students can monitor their financial aid applications, like confirming their FAFSA and CSS/Profile have been received. Furthermore, students may be notified about campus specific scholarship applications through the portal. 

Finally, students receive admissions decisions in the Applicant Portal, the electronic version of previous generations’ Fat Envelope. Thus, students should check their Applicant Portals weekly to manage their applications.


Educators who first taught and learned from the young in the modern high school classroom, now with 20 years of consulting experience, bring an understanding of the complexity of the modern teenager and the travails of parenting soon-to-be adults regarding their education to bear when advising families throughout the United States and around the globe. See us at Creative Marbles Consultancy

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About Jill Yoshikawa, Ed M, Partner of Creative Marbles Consultancy

Jill Yoshikawa, EdM, Harvard ’99, a seasoned, 25 year educator and consultant, is meticulous in helping clients navigate all aspects of the educational experience, no matter the level of complexity. She combines educational theory with experience to advise families, schools and educators. A UCSD and Harvard graduate, as well as a former high school teacher, Jill works tirelessly to help her clients succeed.
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