Taking control of college correspondence

Taking+control+of+college+correspondence

(Dulaney Griffin/Design Turnpike)

Katherine Schutzman, Flex Editor
December 19, 2022

“To send your scores to colleges and universities through the College Board, fill in your email and check the respective boxes below.” When taking exams like the PSAT and SAT, the stress of achieving high scores burdens many students. Students jump at the chance for colleges they are interested in to see their well-deserved test scores. However, students are unaware that they are opening the gates to a cascade of college emails and letters, many from schools they may have never even heard of. With this abundance of correspondence, it’s important to know how to stay on top of your college search.

One option that many students regret not doing is setting up an alternate email address, specifically to submit on the PSAT and SAT to receive college emails. This allows for more organization, as it’s easy to lose track of emails from colleges and universities within the mess of emails from other sources or subscriptions.

Keep in mind that filling out any surveys or signing into any websites provided by colleges will result in schools following up with more information and opportunities for interaction. If there are certain schools that you are definitely not interested in, it’s a good idea to unsubscribe from their email list. However, if you would like more information, diving deeper into emails from schools will let them know that you are interested. 

If there are schools that you are interested in but have not received mail from, go to the website of the school and add yourself to their email list. This will give you opportunities to receive correspondence from the college or university and may help you make yourself more appealing when it comes time to apply.

Finally, check your email often. Some schools may offer opportunities to meet with an admissions counselor, either virtually or in person during a visit to Dulaney. It can be easy to miss out on a great opportunity if you don’t see the email in time. Checking your college emails often allows you to continuously weed out those with little importance to you, so you can focus solely on information from schools that you are interested in.

Keep in mind that it’s okay to be unsure of what schools you want to pursue. Receiving a plethora of emails from colleges and universities can be overwhelming, but it’s also a great way to keep your options open and discover new schools and opportunities.