Getting accepted to college is a huge milestone, but the work between now and your first day of classes is just as important as the application itself. You likely have a series of deadlines over the next few weeks and months: paying your enrollment deposit, comparing financial aid offers, signing up for housing, completing placement tests, and submitting health records. Here’s what to do, roughly in the order you need to do it.
Compare Financial Aid Offers First
If you were accepted to more than one school, resist the urge to commit based on excitement alone. Your financial aid award letters may look very different from one school to the next, and the sticker price of tuition rarely tells the full story. Each offer lists a combination of grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans from federal, state, private, and institutional sources. Your job is to figure out what you’ll actually pay out of pocket at each school.
Start by finding the total cost of attendance for each school. This should include tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, and transportation. If the award letter doesn’t list cost of attendance, call the financial aid office and ask. Then subtract all the grants and scholarships (money you don’t have to pay back) and any savings you plan to use. What’s left is your net cost: the amount you’d cover through earnings, family contributions, or loans. Compare net costs across your options side by side. A school with higher tuition but more grant aid can end up cheaper than one with a lower sticker price.
Pay close attention to how much of your package is loans versus free money. A $30,000 aid package that includes $20,000 in loans is fundamentally different from one that’s $25,000 in grants and $5,000 in loans. If one school’s offer falls short, you can contact their financial aid office and ask if they’ll reconsider, especially if you have a stronger offer from a comparable institution.
Pay Your Enrollment Deposit
Once you’ve picked your school, you need to confirm your spot by paying an enrollment deposit. Most schools set May 1 as the deadline, though not every college follows that date. Deposits typically range from $100 to $300, with some schools charging up to $1,000. This money is usually nonrefundable, so only deposit at the school you plan to attend. Putting deposits down at multiple schools is generally frowned upon and wastes money you won’t get back.
Check your admissions portal or acceptance letter for the exact deadline and payment instructions. Missing this date can mean losing your spot entirely, so set a reminder well in advance. Once you’ve paid, you’ll start getting access to the next round of tasks: housing applications, orientation sign-ups, and student email accounts.
Apply for Housing Early
Campus housing fills up fast, and at many schools the application process opens shortly after you pay your enrollment deposit. You may need to wait a few business days after your deposit clears before the housing portal becomes available. Don’t wait to start this process. Priority is often given based on how early you submit your application, how far you live from campus, or both. Submitting during the priority window does not guarantee your first-choice room, but applying late almost certainly limits your options.
Housing applications typically come in stages. You’ll fill out a general application first, then later you’ll get a timeslot to select your specific room and request a roommate. Meal plans are usually bundled into the housing process, and you’ll choose between options like a five-day or seven-day plan. Schools set a deadline (often midsummer) after which you can no longer cancel your housing contract or switch meal plans without a penalty. Read the cancellation policy carefully before you commit.
Take Placement Tests on Time
Before you can register for classes, most colleges require placement assessments in subjects like math, chemistry, or world languages. These aren’t pass-or-fail exams. They determine which level of coursework you should start in, and your academic advisor will use the results alongside your AP, IB, or transfer credits to recommend your first-semester schedule.
Placement tests are typically taken online, on your own time, before a set deadline. For fall enrollment, that deadline is often in mid-May. Many courses won’t let you register until you’ve completed the relevant placement test, so procrastinating here directly limits what classes you can sign up for during orientation. If you’re waiting on AP or IB scores, take the placement test anyway. You can always adjust your schedule later once those scores arrive.
If you took AP or IB exams, make sure your score reports are being sent to your college. Check the school’s website for its specific credit policies, since the minimum scores accepted and the credits awarded vary widely.
Send Your Final Transcript
Your acceptance was based on your grades through junior year and part of senior year, but colleges still need your final high school transcript after you graduate. Most schools require it before you can fully enroll for fall classes. Ask your high school guidance office to send an official transcript directly to your college once your final grades are posted. Don’t assume this happens automatically. A missing transcript can result in a registration hold on your account, which blocks you from signing up for classes.
This also means your senior-year grades matter. Colleges can and do rescind acceptances if your grades drop significantly or if you fail to graduate. Keep your effort up through the end of the school year.
Submit Health and Immunization Records
At least 34 states require some form of vaccination for college students, and many schools layer on their own requirements beyond what the state mandates. The most commonly required vaccines include meningococcal (especially for students living on campus), measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis, and hepatitis B. Medical exemptions are available in every state, and most states allow religious or personal exemptions as well.
Your college will tell you exactly which immunizations and health forms to submit, usually through the student health portal. You’ll need records from your doctor or your high school, and some schools require a recent physical exam. Get this done early in the summer. If you need a booster or a new vaccine, scheduling can take time, and a hold on your account for missing health records will block your registration just like a missing transcript would.
Sign Up for Orientation
Orientation is where you’ll meet your academic advisor, register for your first classes, learn your way around campus, and start meeting other students. Most schools offer multiple orientation sessions throughout the summer, and spots in earlier sessions tend to fill first. Registering for an early session gives you a better shot at getting into the classes you want, since course sections fill up as each orientation group registers.
Some schools charge an orientation fee. Check whether it’s included in your enrollment deposit or billed separately. If your parents or family members want to attend, there’s often a separate sign-up (and sometimes an additional fee) for family orientation programming.
Handle the Logistics
Once the big-ticket items are done, a handful of smaller tasks round out your checklist before move-in day.
- Set up your student email and portal. Most communication from your school, including billing, class registration, and housing updates, goes through your student email. Activate it as soon as it’s available and check it regularly.
- Review your billing statement. Your first tuition bill usually arrives over the summer. Confirm that your financial aid, scholarships, and any payment plans are reflected correctly. If something looks off, contact the bursar’s office before the payment deadline.
- Apply for a student ID. Some schools let you upload your photo online before you arrive so your ID is ready at orientation.
- Look into work-study or campus jobs. If work-study is part of your financial aid package, start browsing job listings early. Popular positions fill quickly in the first weeks of the semester.
- Connect with your roommate. Once housing assignments go out, reach out to your roommate to coordinate who’s bringing what. Two mini-fridges in a dorm room is one too many.
- Check what to bring (and what’s banned). Your school’s housing website will have a list of prohibited items and recommended supplies. Most dorms don’t allow candles, space heaters, or extension cords without surge protectors.
The stretch between acceptance and move-in day goes faster than you’d expect. Tackle the time-sensitive items first, like your deposit, financial aid comparison, and housing application, then work through the rest of the list over the summer. Every task you finish early is one less thing competing for your attention when the semester begins.