If you haven’t done so already, send thank you notes to all of your teachers who wrote letters of recommendations for you. College acceptance would have been a much harder road without their assistance. Let them know of your success, and thank them for their confidence and support. Make sure to keep them informed throughout your college career. They will be happy to hear from you.

Next, if you’ve been accepted into any other colleges, common courtesy dictates that you write to these other colleges and let them know you will not be attending. Let them open up another slot for another less fortunate student. It’s karma man, turn your college acceptance into a college acceptance for someone else. It’s all good.

Why?

College acceptance now puts you on a new treadmill. Once you jump off the application treadmill, you land on the college acceptance treadmill, and this treadmill is more of a sprint than a marathon. If your orientation is also a registration session for your first college semester, you want to be in an earlier group to register. This will ensure that most of the classes, and time slots are still open when you register.

Most orientation/registrations will also have advisors on hand to make sure you sign up for the correct classes. Once you know which classes you must take, then scheduling comes into play.

A couple of pieces of advice here...it’s much harder to wake up for an 8:00 a.m. class in college than it was in high school. Mama won’t be there threatening you with a spatula. And the whole purpose of signing up for classes is to make sure you attend.

Second, avoid late classes on Fridays. All of your friends will be starting the weekend early or leaving town, and you will be sorely tempted to join them.

The rest of the scheduling is really a personal or personality kind of thing. Some kids schedule the same amount of classes every day, while others load classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while reserving Tuesdays and Thursdays for studying. Do whatever works for you. Just stay realistic and you should be fine.

“But it’s cramped, and there’s no privacy...” I can hear you whining already. When did you become such a prima donna? When did you become a child of entitlement? Get a grip, it’s better than camping...isn’t it? Most dorms now have air conditioning and running water...Close your eyes and remember that feeling when you opened your college acceptance letter and read the words “Congratulations” get that feeling again...gratitude is everything.

The truth is, dorms are a bit cramped. They weren’t made for luxury or spaciousness. It’s a place for you to sleep, shower, study and visit with friends. But dorms are also a place where several hundred students from across the country will converge with one common theme...starting their college careers.

Dorms are a great place to meet new people and make new friends. Part of your college experience is to make new friends, learn new social skills and have fun (within limits).

Most dorms come furnished with beds, desks, chairs, closets and drawers for clothing. Not much more. Some dorms have private bathrooms, while others have shared bathrooms. Besides that, most public college dorms are pretty much alike.

You still have some options here, but some changes may have to be made. First, most colleges have an appeals process, but be forewarned, most appeals are not successful.

Next, have you heard back from all of the colleges you applied to? All you need is one college acceptance letter, and things will be better. If you’re waiting for responses from other colleges, you may want to call them to see what your status is. Explain why you’re a little stressed and try to get some kind of commitment.

If all of the colleges have rejected you (a worst case scenario) you can call the admissions department of the college and get some feedback as to why they rejected you. This could give you some insight into what you should change or strengthen to receive that college acceptance letter the next time you apply.

Go talk to your counselor to see what alternative solutions they may have. Are there any schools who are still taking applications? Could you sit out a year and work? How about a community college for your first year? There’s no shame in that, and it’ll cost you significantly less too. Get all of your basics out of the way. This could be a blessing in disguise.