<p>Not quite ready to join the Done club, but son has submitted his aplications to most of his common application schools. Now what? He got the immediate emails from the common application website, but I am assuming at some point the schools will let him know that everything is complete (or not complete)? Or should he contact the schools even if they do not contact him?</p>
<p>Just do not want something to be missing and not know about it. Also, teachers and GC are submitting paper forms, so that will never show up on the common application iste, I'm guessing.</p>
<p>So far, all of the three schools that my son has submitted the common app to have soon thereafter emailed him that the application was received (downloaded) and given him a user ID and password to a page on their website where the various parts of the application are recorded as pending or received, so that he can track when everything is in.</p>
<p>DS went the low tech way with his paper forms. He included a self addressed stamped postcard with the name of the school and the teacher. It was mailed with the recommendation and then the college threw it in the mail back to him. Worked great.</p>
<p>You could start pulling together your financial data for the FAFSA and Profile and taxes (oh my!)</p>
<p>Already--from our experience of 3, the automatic e-mail generated from the school gives you a link or way to sign up to check the site to see that the material is being received. You don't do this thru the Common App, but rather with the school. But it takes several weeks for all the pieces to get logged in properly, so give it time before he calls.</p>
<p>So I founded the "Done" club, and was quickly put in my place. Let's rename it the "Applications Done" club. My limited experience is that missing stuff will be brought to the attention of the applicant. The culpability of this could be on either end so resubmitting recs, etc. won't be punitive.</p>
<p>DH and my next thing is FA. The college fund that we set up when our DS was in diapers took a major hit lately, but salaries will prevent need-based aid. We'll still file FAFSA because a few of the target schools require that for merit scholarships. Won't need to do the CSS Profile, though.</p>
<p>Advice from a college class of 2012 parent: Take a break, and be very happy that this step is over. My S didn't press "send" on the Common App until the very last minute. Then we cleaned out all the irrelevant paper from schools he ended up not applying to. I got together all the information for the FAFSA and did the preliminary application online while waiting for our end-of-year information. (I should be doing the same right now for this year.) Our family talked about possible next steps, including a winter follow-up trip to School B (rolling admission acceptance) if School A (early action) didn't pan out in mid-January. If a piece of the puzzle doesn't make it to an admissions office, don't panic--just take action. They're forgiving (and sometimes the problem is on their end). Two or three weeks before one decision was expected, my S got a postcard from one school about missing second-quarter grades. I did panic, and I was not happy with his HS counselor, who just hadn't sent the report. He was accepted, and the panic wasn't worth it. (This was the only time I stepped in and made a phone call; he handled all the counselor communication quite ably through the first semester.) </p>
<p>But this is a time to relax a little, congratulate your student on a job well done, and let what will happen happen. Before you know it you'll be dealing with the decision, graduation, orientation, and then packing. Trust me: It happens so fast you won't know what hit you until they're gone.</p>
<p>financial aid ...................i think perhaps by now you can go ahead and complete the css profile (collegeboard site), if required, and the fafsa. for fafsa, you'll use estimated numbers. check with the colleges financial aid office to see if they require their own financial aid form (some do). find out the deadline dates for the colleges for submission of fafsa, css profile, etc. to their institution. some colleges have earlier deadlines than others.</p>
<p>Not time to take a break yet. Double check that all the admissions materials are in, and all the extra applications for scholarships! Then get going on the FAFSA. Also, grow your nails extra long so you will have more to chew on in March, when the tension gets really bad.
Seriously, after everything is in, just sit back and try to enjoy the final months with your teenager. It won't be like the rest of childhood - he or she can be pretty self-centered and trying - but it is an important step in your separation. You might like the book, "Letting Go."</p>