Last Minute College Application Tips Before You Press Submit

Last Minute College Application Tips Before You Press Submit

College applications require a lot of time, energy, and thought. It is never a good idea to leave all of the work for the last minute, but there are certain parts you should be thinking about as deadlines come up. Before you hit submit, here are some last minute college application tips to help you send the best possible applications you can to your top-choice schools!

1. Re-Read Your Personal Statement

This is probably something you’ve already done, but you should do it once or twice more, even after you think everything is complete. Spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar won’t detract from the content of your essays, but these things can make you appear rushed, inattentive, and inconsiderate on your application. Admissions officers expect to see your best work, and they expect it to show college-level writing and editing skills.

Submit a polished application with these last minute college application editing tricks:

• Read out loud. Reading your writing aloud helps you slow down and read each word. This can help you catch missing words or grammatically incorrect phrases.
• Read backward. Start at the end of your essay and read backward by sentence, phrase, or even word. This will help you catch mistakes you’ve been reading right past.
• Check tenses. Do you switch suddenly from past tense to present tense? Make sure you maintain consistency.
• Check subject-verb agreement. For example, if the subject of your sentence is plural (they, we) make sure you use the form of the verb that matches a plural noun or pronoun. Remember “everyone” is a singular pronoun!
• Share your essay with a friend, teacher, or parent, so another person can help catch any editing mistakes.

2. Check Your Activities List Hours

The Common Application Activities List asks you to input grade level and hours-per-week for your activities. [1] Simple math often reveals dishonesty or exaggeration to an admissions officer. A last minute college application tip is to add up the hours per school week your list says you commit to activities. Totals well above 30 hours per school week can look unrealistic unless your descriptions clearly explain them. For more help, read our guide to the Common App activities section.

Remember, your admission officer understands that a well-rounded and organized student commits time to homework, as well as some personal time to rest and relaxation!

3. Sharpen Your Why This College Essay

Many schools include a Common Application supplement question that asks you to describe why you are interested in their college. The worst thing you can do in this essay is be vague. If you’re vague, it sounds like you haven’t researched the school and don’t care enough about the school and your admission there to do so. In these cases, admissions officers might assume that you’re applying to their school because 1) it’s a safety school for you 2) it’s a reach school for you and you’re interested only in the school’s high ranking and fame 3) someone else recommended the school, and you took that person’s advice blindly.

In the first case, you want to be very careful to make sure your safety schools know you are genuinely interested. You don’t want to be turned away because the admissions officers assume you won’t actually attend if admitted. In the second case, you need to justify your interest in that school compared to other high ranking schools. A last minute college application double check: comparative statements between specific schools should not be used in this essay, but you should describe the unique virtue of this school. In the third case mentioned above, you appear lazy or indifferent. Colleges want students who have taken charge of their own education and worked to find the best college options for them. One great way to do this is by using specific facts about each school in the appropriate supplementary essay. Our guide to the Why This College supplemental essay walks through how to find them.

Before you hit submit for each school, double check this essay. Are you writing about the “great athletics,” the “quality of the student life,” the “diversity,” the “engaged professors,” or the “interesting classes in my major” within having specific information on these topics at this school? If your essay is vague, try to find out details about the school that support your larger statements. You can weave these into your essay, even as last minute college application edits, to provide evidential support for your larger points about the “great athletics” or the “engaged professors.”

4. Self-Report Your Test Scores

The Common App has space to self-report your test scores. Even if you have new test scores coming in the mail before the deadline, you should fill out this section of the Common App. Many schools begin reviewing applications with self-reported scores, and some only verify official scores after you enroll. [2] In most cases, scores that arrive after the deadline will not prevent consideration of your application.

A critical last minute college application reminder: if you’re sending additional scores from a re-test, note this on your application. You can provide a line of information describing the test scores that are on their way, including what test will have updated scores and which exam date you used. That way, admissions officers will know to be on the lookout for your newest and, hopefully, improved SAT or ACT retake.

Many schools superscore, meaning they consider your highest score in each section across different test dates. [2] For example, if you scored 580 in Reading and Writing and 720 in Math on the SAT in the spring of your junior year, and 630 in Reading and Writing and 700 in Math in the fall of your senior year, a school that superscores will consider 630 in Reading and Writing and 720 in Math. Policies differ, so check each college’s testing page and confirm that any fall test date you choose will deliver scores before your deadline. Also look for common supplemental essay mistakes one last time before you submit.

5. Confirm Recommendations, Transcripts, and Forms

Your recommenders and school counselor submit their materials separately from your application. Before the deadline, open your application account and check the status of each teacher recommendation, your counselor recommendation, and your transcript. If something still shows as not started, send a polite reminder a week or more ahead so no one is rushing on the final night.

This is also the moment to confirm school-specific requirements. Some colleges ask for a portfolio, an art or music supplement, or an extra writing sample. Use our college application checklist to make sure nothing is missing.

6. Preview the Final PDF and Submit Early

Always preview your application as a PDF before you pay and submit. Formatting can shift when text is pasted from a word processor, and the preview shows exactly what an admissions officer will see. Look for cut-off sentences, stray symbols, and supplements that mention the wrong college.

Aim to submit at least a few days before the deadline. Application portals slow down on deadline day, and an early submission gives you time to fix a payment problem or a missing upload without panic.

Finally, double-check the application plan you selected for each college, such as Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision. Early Decision is binding, so it usually requires a signed agreement from you, a parent, and your counselor. Choosing the wrong plan by accident is a stressful mistake that is easy to prevent with one last look.

What to Do After You Submit

Pressing submit is not quite the end. Most colleges send a confirmation email with a link to an applicant portal within a few days. Set up each portal as soon as it arrives, because this is where schools tell you about missing documents, interview invitations, and eventually your decision.

• Check each portal weekly. A missing transcript or score report can hold up your file.
• Send official scores if a school requires them. Some colleges verify self-reported scores only after you enroll, while others need official reports during review.
• Keep your grades up. Colleges receive your midyear report, so senior year grades still matter.
• Save copies of everything. Your essays can be reused and adapted for scholarship applications and later deadlines.

If a portal shows a missing item, contact the admissions office right away and keep a record of when you sent it. Admissions offices handle these requests all the time, and a quick, polite follow-up usually resolves the problem well before your file is reviewed.

Final Review Before You Submit

Make sure your application is truly ready. InGenius Prep’s Former Admissions Officers can complete a comprehensive, last-minute review of your essays, activities list, and overall application for clarity, accuracy, and impact. Book a final application review and submit with confidence.

For more last minute editing tips, check out this podcast:

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