High School Students: Check. Your. Email

Here's why:

Years ago, I had a student whose first-choice school was Villanova. She wasn’t accepted Early Decision, but she didn't get rejected — she was wait-listed.

Then she got an email that said, “Hey, we want to offer you a seat in next year’s freshman class, but you need to let us know within the next 10 days whether or not you're still interested.”

Only — she didn't check her email until after that 10-day window was long past, losing out on her opportunity to attend her first-choice university. 😩

Check. Your. Email.

Every. Single. Day. during the college application process, which is from right now until May 1 of your senior year.

(Fun fact: professors will be expecting you to check your email in college, too. Daily.)

I realize that most high school students believe that email is dead, nobody uses email anymore, but the business world still very much runs on email and colleges are businesses.

I also realize you need someone to text you to remind you to check your email — but I'm not going to do that, and your parents aren't either. It’s not our job; it’s your job. You’re the one who wants all the freedoms awarded to college students, and with freedom comes responsibility. One of your adult responsibilities is to check your email. Every. Day.

There are other reasons why I need you to check your email:

If you get into the school of your choice, but there's a deadline to respond, that notification will be in your inbox. Admissions officers aren’t going to text you and ask you to please check your email because they made you an offer. They’re expecting that you’re already doing this.

I'm using Wake Forest as an example, but many colleges post this on their admissions blogs. Colleges & universities have a hard time getting through your high school's spam filters, so I strongly recommend that you not use your high school email address for your college applications. I recommend that you set up an account that's specifically for your college applications and your Future Self, not a Gmail account that you’ve already been using that might be tied to social media accounts and/or online comments that you maybe don't want admissions officers stumbling across. Make sure that you choose an appropriate handle for your new email account. You don't want to be party girl @gmail.com that's not a good look for a qualified candidate applying to colleges and universities. firstnamelastname@gmail.com is a great choice.

It’s possible you will lose access to your high school email account after you graduate. If you are deferred or waitlisted and this process drags on past graduation, well, then you’re in a bind.

Puhleeeeeeeze consider setting up a different email address for your college applications, one that’s reflective of your Future Self and the professional you wish to grow into.

If you are using an email address that you have already been using as a high school student, make sure your social media accounts and the comments you’ve left around the Internet using that email address are all reflective of the future professional you aspire to be.

Along those same lines: make sure that every time your friends’ phone cameras are pointed at you, you know exactly what's behind you and where you are — and that you’re not in a place where you shouldn’t be doing stuff that might get a college acceptance offer rescinded. It happens every year; the stories are out there.

You should be signed up to receive emails from every college on your list, and when these schools send you emails, you need to open them! Many colleges track whether or not their emails are opened; if you’re not opening the emails, you’re telling schools, “Meh. Whatever.” And that may not be the message you want to be sending while you’re actively competing for a seat in their freshman class.

Check. Your. Email.