Hit Submit — Then Do These Six Things

Most families treat the submit button as the finish line. It is not. What happens in the week after you submit — and the weeks that follow — determines whether everything you worked on actually lands the way it should.

Here is what needs to happen after you hit submit, in order.

One rule before anything else: submit one to two weeks before the deadline.

Not the night before. Not the morning of. One to two weeks early.

Why: most schools require materials — transcripts, recommendation letters, test scores — to arrive by the same deadline as the application, or within a short grace period after. If you submit on the deadline and a recommendation letter is delayed, you may have no time to catch it. Submitting early gives you a window to check the portal, confirm what has arrived, and fix what has not.

1. Set Up Your Applicant Portal — At Every School

Within a day or two of submitting, each college will send instructions for setting up an applicant portal. Do this immediately for every school. Do not let the emails pile up.

The portal is where you will:

*  See whether your application is complete or has missing items

*  Check whether your transcript, recommendation letters, and test scores have been received

*  Monitor your application status through the decision process

*  Respond to any school-specific steps — more on those below

Set up every portal within 48 hours of receiving the login instructions. Missing a portal flag because you never logged in is one of the most avoidable mistakes in the process.

2. Confirm Your Materials Are Actually There

Submitting your application does not mean your supporting materials arrived. These travel separately and schools track them separately. Check each portal for the following:

Official transcripts

Your guidance counselor submits these directly to each school — usually through the Common Application or a school-specific portal. Confirm with your counselor that they have submitted, then verify in each school portal that they have been received.

Recommendation letters

Letters are submitted by your recommenders through the Common Application or directly to the school. Check each portal to confirm they have arrived. If a letter is missing close to the deadline, contact the recommender — politely — and let them know.

Test scores

Most schools allow self-reported scores on the application and only require official scores if you are admitted and choose to enroll. A small number of schools — including Georgetown and USC — require official scores before they will review your application. Check each school testing policy and send official scores to any school that requires them before the decision.

Financial documents

If you are applying Early Decision, most schools require the FAFSA or a financial aid form to be submitted alongside or shortly after the application. Check each school ED agreement requirements carefully.

3. Complete School-Specific Steps

Several common application steps are easy to miss because they happen after you hit submit, not before. Check each portal for the following:

SRAR or SSAR (Self-Reported Academic Record)

A growing number of schools — particularly public universities — require students to self-report their grades and courses through a separate system that must be linked to the application. If a school requires this and you do not complete it, your application may be considered incomplete. Search: which colleges require SRAR or SSAR, to find a current list.

FERPA authorization

Most portals ask you to complete a FERPA waiver, which determines whether you waive your right to view your recommendation letters. This needs to be completed in the portal, not on the application itself.

Early Decision agreement

If you applied Early Decision — not Early Action — you, a parent, and your school counselor typically must sign an ED agreement confirming you understand the binding commitment. This is a separate step from submitting the application. Check whether your school requires it and complete it before the deadline.

4. Know Your School Materials Deadline — It May Not Match the Application Deadline

Every school sets its own materials deadline, and it may or may not match the application deadline. Some schools require all materials by the same date as the application. Others provide a grace period of one to two weeks after the application deadline. A small number require official scores before they will review an application at all.

There is no universal rule. Check the admissions website and portal for every school on your list. Do not assume a grace period exists. When in doubt, call the admissions office and ask directly. A two-minute phone call is better than finding out in December that your application was incomplete.

5. Place Your Housing Deposit Early — The Timing Is Not What You Think

Most families assume housing is sorted out after admission decisions arrive in the spring. At some schools that is true. At others, housing priority is assigned based on when a student places their deposit — which means a student admitted in October who deposits in October may get significantly better housing options than one admitted in March who deposits in April.

Two concrete examples worth knowing:

Clemson University

Clemson Early Action deadline is October 15. If a student is admitted and matriculating, housing priorities are assigned based on deposit date — with application submission date used as a tiebreaker. Earlier application, earlier deposit, better housing assignment. Students still taking the SAT or ACT have until November 1 to submit improved scores.

Auburn University

Auburn has multiple Early Action rounds. The listed deadline on the Common Application is December 1, but students with strong academic profiles who apply by early September can hear back by mid-October. An early decision means an early deposit opportunity, which means first priority for housing and orientation assignments. The gap between an October deposit and a March deposit at Auburn can be significant.

Check each school housing policy at the time of application, not after decisions arrive. For schools where deposit timing affects housing, early admission is worth more than just peace of mind.

6. Keep Checking — Through the Decision

Setting up the portal once is not enough. Schools will occasionally add missing-item flags, request additional documents, or send status updates through the portal rather than by email. Check every portal at least once a week from the time you submit through the time decisions are released.

This is also where deferral responses, waitlist decisions, and requests for mid-year grades will appear. A student who checks their portals regularly is never caught off guard. A student who stops checking after they submit often is.

Navigating the post-submit window is one of the places we stay with families longest — because this is where things go wrong quietly, and catching them early makes the difference.

College Placement Consulting  ·  Blog Post  ·  July 2026