I am interested in starting to make accounts for the colleges I am interested in. Is there any harm in making it now or should I wait until summer or fall of my senior year?
Also, I am under the impression that Common App data carries over to next year’s class (so I went ahead and filled out what I could without adding colleges), but please correct me if I’m wrong.
There’s no point in making portals considering most of them don’t have any use other than viewing the status of your application. That, and some won’t let you make a portal until they send you a link after submitting your common app.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing what you’re actually asking is whether you should start your applications for different schools on the common app. You can go ahead and start on those, but know that the questions might change for next year and erase your progress.
My D21 also wants to get going on the Common App. My understanding is that you can start now and fill out many things that will carry over, but your essay will be erased once August 1 rolls around and the form resets for the next admissions cycle. LOR can’t be uploaded until August 1 either.
You can start on your Common App essay though. Just do it on Word or Google Docs etc, then copy and paste once the Common App resets for the new cycle. The prompts are the same for this year as they were for last year.
I don’t know about “portals” but it is a good idea to go to college websites and “Request Information” by putting in your contact information. Maybe that is what you mean when you say “make accounts”?
When my son was a high school Junior, we went to many college’s web sites and clicked links for “Request Information”. This will result in those colleges mailing you information and emailing as well. Some people on CC complain about receiving mailings from universities. Because we were truly interested in learning more about those universities, we welcomed the brochures and letters.
An added benefit for us is that most of the colleges from whom we officially Requested Information ended up offering a waiver fee for the application. That ended up saving up hundreds of dollars in application fees.
For Common App schools, you don’t get portal login credentials until after your application has been submitted.
You can fill out parts of the Common App. Keep all essays and activity descriptions saved in a document until the Common App rolls over on Aug 1, then copy and paste.
@EconPop When I meant “portal”, I was talking about the schools that don’t use the Common App (sorry for the ambiguity), like Alabama. I’m not sure if that changes anything, but I was hoping to create the MyBama account (or any of the other ones) just to get a head start.
@evergreen5 didn’t know that, thank you
If the school will allow you to create portal account for fall '21 enrollment, I don’t see the harm. There are a fair number of schools that allow students to apply during the summer of 2020 for fall 2021 enrollment. If they see fit to allow you to create a portal account and you want to do it, go ahead and do it.
Good luck.
I know that American had some kind of account where you could signup. It was were you scheduled tours, got on the mailing list, etc. For schools that that consider demonstrated interest (e.g. American), it is a good idea to signup as soon as you have any interest.
This is only true for certain schools. Like @Eeyore123 mentioned, AU lets you create an account to schedule tours and webinars, but you can’t do anything regarding applications until August 1.
You may want to create an email account that’s used exclusively for college admissions-related tasks. Makes it easier to monitor.