Dear Seniors,
Congratulations on moving past the November 1 deadline! This is a major milestone in your college application process and while some of you may not have had to hit “SEND” just yet, we know how hard you have all been working to finalize your applications. With October in our collective rear view mirror, it’s time to take a moment to recognize how much you have accomplished and what comes next on your senior journey.
Now is the time to set up your portals… and check them! Within about a week of submitting each application, the college will email you to invite you to set up a portal where you can check the status of your materials. Set up your portals as soon as possible and check them 1-2 times per week for the duration of the application cycle. It is your responsibility to confirm that the college has received all required documents.
Please note that it may take colleges up to 1-2 weeks to process your credentials. Please do not reach out to colleges about missing documents until this time has passed.
Moving forward, please know that you are required to inform your counselor of any decisions you receive as soon as possible. We ask that you refrain from entering these decisions in Scoir. Your counselor will gladly take care of this step for you to ensure accuracy in our data.
First quarter grades, interim grades, or as we refer to them, Grades in Progress, will be communicated with you next week. As you know, these are indicator grades that let you know how you are doing about halfway through the first semester. These are not “official” grades that are computed into your GPA, or listed on your official transcripts – only semester grades are official and used for this purpose.
It’s important to keep in mind that college decisions never hinge on one particular quarter grade, so please don’t overly focus on this. Understand that colleges use these Grades in Progress more to confirm the great performance you have demonstrated in previous years.
The College Counseling Office will send all Grades in Progress reports to all ED/EA and Priority colleges by Friday, Nov. 17th.
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Please know that we only send grades – we never send comments
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We will not send a Grades In Progress report if you have an Incomplete or missing grade, so please alert your counselor if you expect this may be an issue
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We will not send Grades in Progress reports to colleges to which you are applying under Regular Decision, or to colleges to which you have already been admitted
Some colleges will want to see your interim grades, and others do not. If you can confirm in writing from the college website or your applicant portal that a college does not require the submission of these grades, you must notify your College Counselor by Nov. 15th, … a screen shot will suffice!
While it may be tempting to adopt a “wait and see” approach, we strongly and emphatically recommend that you use the next few weeks to complete your regular decision applications. The thinking behind this is to allow yourself enough time to seek, receive and incorporate any feedback your college counselor may be able to provide in advance of the early round notification period in mid-December. This is also a great way to stay focused while you are waiting to hear back from colleges which can be somewhat stressful. Finally, it ensures that you can have a Winter Break that is both relaxing and restorative!
Best regards,