If you've been rolling along with the 52 week plan, you should be ready to submit your applications this week. Excellent! Take a bow!

If you've let things slide, this is your wake-up call to get your applications done. I know, I know. Finals, holidays, and then a break when you can REALLY concentrate, so what's the big deal if everything isn't done right now?

The big deal is that submitting applications actually TAKES TIME all on its own. So your master plan needs to allow for that. Assume at minimum 30-45 minutes per application since every college has some wrinkle that is unique to it. For most of you, that means you need to set aside a good 5-6 hours for the submission process. And remember, there are tens of thousands of you with the same deadline and same strategy - that is why there is plenty of history of sites crashing and applicants melting down. You can avoid all that if you just submit now. So ramp it up, get it done, stop procrastinating or you (and everyone who has to deal with your New Year's Day meltdown) will be sorry.

A special word of encouragement to those of you who submitted applications for Early Decision and got turned down or deferred. It is disappointing. Allow yourself 24 hours to just wallow in your disappointment, write them a "I reject you too" letter (that you don't mail), or do whatever is your best strategy for processing disappointment. Then table it. You've got to rally so that you DO get into one or more colleges that are on your list. To borrow the familiar metaphor, dust yourself off and get back on that horse. You can do it. If you put together an Early Decision application, you are 75% there. You've got the other 25% in you. I know you do (and besides -- how will you show them that they were completely whacked to deny or defer you unless you get into another school, go on to become world famous, etc. etc.).

Now down to the brass tacks of actually submitting your applications. Here are the top 5 things you have to remember/do.

1. Be methodical: READ and follow the directions.

I suggest a checklist for every school. Make the checklist from the college's instructions and then check everything off as it is completed. In general, you will be required to submit the entire application at once. If you break your work sessions up and complete parts in different sessions, be sure and keep track of what you've finished and what you've got left to do.

Colleges want things done a certain way for a reason. They have to process all those applications that land on their doorstep with a Happy New Year thud. If you don't follow their directions, your application can easily get detoured, lost, or mangled in the system. You don't want to be a problem child. And you especially don't want to be the problem child who throws a big tantrum because you did too submit your application only to discover that the reason it was not received on time was because you failed to read and/or follow step #1 listed on the college's web site in 72 point font.

2. Save, save, save/trash, trash, trash.

Oh woe to the applicant who loses everything in an electronic malfunction. You should save regularly (save, not submit). If you create multiple drafts that are different documents, trash the old versions or use a naming convention that keeps you from accidentally using an old draft.

3. Proofread, proofread, proofread and then preview everything.

• Don't ruin a great essay with typos and grammatical errors.
• Don't make it obvious you used the same "why I want to go to your school" essay for all 15 schools by having it say "I am really impressed by the science department at Northwestern. When I visited Hanover, I went to a chemistry class that was excellent." Duh. Dartmouth is in Hanover; Northwestern isn't. Big fat liar or careless proof reader - neither is the impression you want an admissions officer to have.
• Don't assume what you see on the screen is what you will see when it is printed. Every online submission program has some sort of preview feature because cut and paste can go tragically wrong. Lost words, distorted font, weirdo embedded commands that keep the recipient from opening the document. The only way to ensure that this tragedy does not befall you is to preview everything! Everything. I mean it.

4. Put identifying information on EVERY page of EVERY document, image, CD, etc. that you submit.

Most electronic submissions embed this information in the header or footer and you don't have to worry about it. But many of you will be submitting things that you create and you'll need to add this header or footer yourselves.  Things do get separated in the application review process. Make sure all your materials make their way back to your file and you get credit for what you have submitted by identifying it all. At a minimum, you should have your full name. But a social security number also helps - particularly if you have a common name.

BTW, this is a really good life habit to develop. You should follow this advice for all college papers and job applications.

5. Keep documentation in case of problems.

• Save what you can electronically and keep it stored in multiple locations - not just on your laptop's hard drive. Back up with a zip drive, thumb drive or cloud storage system.
• Print out your application in its entirety or print the screen for online forms. A hard copy is always a failsafe should the cyberworld crash.
• Keep whatever confirmation you get that your application was submitted and/or received. Again keep both electronically and in hard copy.

Now it is time for me to submit this blog post, so that you can submit your applications. Happy day!

Comments or Questions

You really shouldn't have time for them right now. But if you do, I'm here and happy to talk with you, so post away!

Alison Cooper Chisolm writes the series 52 Weeks to College. She has worked in admissions at Southern Methodist University, the University of Chicago, and most recently Dartmouth College. She is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Virginia Law School. As part of the Ivey Consulting team, Alison works with college applicants and their families as they navigate the college admissions process. Read more about Alison here.