After applications are submitted and the giant feeling of relief has subsided, there are a few things to keep in mind. Each school has their own timeline for when they will inform applicants of their admission decisions. In general, schools which have rolling admissions take 2-3 weeks, schools with November EA will inform you between mid-December and end of January, and schools with RD in January will inform you by end of February or March. What do you do while you wait?
After receiving the application, colleges will create a personal account on their website for you to check the status of your application and submit additional materials. Check your email consistently and make sure you do not miss these emails from your colleges (typically by 2-3 days after submitting application). After receiving them, log in to your student portal and double check that the colleges have received all of your application requirements. While doing this, keep in mind that it may take some time for the websites to be updated as colleges are inundated with materials around their deadlines. If about a week after the deadline you still see that your application is missing something, follow up with the admissions office. Although some colleges will send you a reminder that something is missing, you do not want to rely on that.
If you have not completed the FAFSA and CSS Profile, you should definitely do that right away. Students who applied to colleges which require a Self-Reported Academic Record or proof of residency often submit these through their new student portal after they have applied. Also, some Honors programs, scholarships and other specialized applications are only open for the student after they have submitted the main application. Students should ensure they have followed the instructions from each college regarding completing all of their requirements and supplements.
If you do indeed find out that something is missing, do not overreact. Remember, with so many documents and emails being sent back and forth during such a short time span, it is very easy for something to get lost in the shuffle. If what is missing can be taken care of by you, do it right away. If it is something a counselor, teacher, or testing agency should have taken care of, politely follow up with them yourself. Whatever it may be, respectfully ask them to resend the materials as soon as they can. Confirm with the admissions office that you have taken care of it and verify if they have received the missing materials. While doing all of this, it is important that you advocate for yourself and be patient. Colleges would much rather hear from the students themselves than from a parent or counselor. You want to show them you are ready for college.
It should go without saying, but keep working hard and maintaining or improving your grades. Colleges ask for mid and final reports from your counselor for a reason! If you are given admission to a college and your grades sink, they have the right to revoke their offer. On the other hand, if you end up getting deferred or waitlisted, you want to be able to show progress to improve your chances of acceptance. No matter what your situation is, continuing to work hard and get good grades can only help.
You can use your new-found free time to search for scholarships and continue to learn more about your potential colleges. If you have not had time to tour or attend an information session, now is a great time to do that. You can demonstrate your interest in the colleges while preparing to make an informed choice when your admission decisions do come in. Congratulations on getting this far, get excited for the future!
Additional Resources:
An example of an applicant portal and use: Brown Admission Page