After you finally open that long-awaited acceptance letter, you probably think all that’s left to do is pack your bags and pick your classes. But not so fast—even though you’ve received an invitation to attend a school, there’s still a small risk that your admission offer could be revoked. According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, more than one-third of schools have taken back offers after students have proved themselves unworthy for one reason or another. These are the top five mistakes that could cost you a chance at the school of your dreams.
- Not sending in your deposit. Your parents may worry about how they’ll pay for the full four years of school, but in general, a deposit of only a few hundred dollars is required to secure your spot in class. Be absolutely certain that your family has sent in this payment by the deadline—otherwise, your spot will be offered to a student on the waiting list, and you’ll probably need to wait another year if you still want to attend.
- Slacking off in senior year. While it’s true that once you’ve been accepted, a school won’t pay as much attention to your second semester grades, make sure that you don’t slip up too heavily. Your college will receive a report of your grades, and if they see a disturbing downward spiral, they may decide that you’re not cut out for their hallowed halls, after all.
- Cheating and other bad behavior. In 2007, Harvard University revoked a student’s admission offer because they discovered she had plagiarized numerous articles. Harvard, and many other schools, include “moral character” as a criteria for acceptance, and academic dishonesty can be grounds for revoking admission. Likewise, criminal behavior often leads to a revocation—so make sure to stay on your best behavior, on and off of school grounds.
- Revealing too much online. If you think your friends are the only ones looking at your Facebook page, you’re sorely mistaken. College admissions officers often scour through applicants’ online profiles—and if they see something that turns them off, that can mean the difference between a yes and a no. Likewise, if you’ve already been accepted, an admissions officer could change his mind if he comes across a photo of you binge drinking with your friends. To make sure your social media profiles won’t get in the way of your college dreams, Google yourself and see what you find. If it’s not something you’d want your Grandma to see, you don’t want an admissions officer to see it either. Clean it up before it’s too late.
- Double-depositing. If you haven’t made up your mind where you want to attend, it’s fine to send in deposits to multiple schools where you’ve been accepted, so they’ll all hold your spot, right? Wrong. By doing this, you’re keeping a spot from going to a waitlisted student at the school you choose not to attend, and colleges don’t tend to like that at all. If a school you’ve made a deposit to finds out that you’ve also committed to another school, they’re well within their rights to withdraw their admissions offer—which may mean that instead of too many college choices, you’ll end up with none at all.
