Don't Forget the Portals!

Have you investigated your Portals?

No, we’re not talking about entryways to galaxies far far away. We’re talking about the websites that colleges maintain for applicants. On these websites you’ll be able to track things like whether or not information is missing from your application, recommendations have been received and, in some cases, even find out if you’ve been accepted!

If ever there was a time to check your email regularly – like every day regularly – this is it.

Once your application is received by a college you’ll get an email explaining the process for setting up your own portal. You’ll most likely be asked to set up a username and password in order to log in. If you’ve already submitted applications and don’t know anything about college portals, go through your email carefully to see if you have received the information. If you don’t see it, check with the admissions office of the college in question to see if it can be resent.

Each college has their own format for its portal. Even among the UC’s and Cal States the portals vary. Bottom line, open up every portal email you receive, set up every account and, then, check in frequently.

You may be exhausted by the number of emails you’ve received from colleges along the way, but ignoring them now could result in you not getting information you need to complete your application.

Want to see how one school (UC Santa Cruz) manages their portal? Click here: Portal Preview