The Next 60 Days After College Decisions: The Complete April-May Action Plan

College decisions are in. The hard part is over. Now comes the part most families do not plan carefully enough: the 60 days between decisions and May 1, when the enrollment commitment is due. These weeks feel like a waiting period but they are actually the most consequential financial and logistical decision window in the entire college process. Here is the complete April-May action plan so nothing falls through the cracks and your family arrives at May 1 with confidence.

Week 1 (This Week): Financial Aid Comparison

Your first priority this week is assembling every financial aid award letter from every school where your student was admitted. If any letters have not arrived yet, contact the financial aid office at those schools directly to request an estimated award timeline. Once you have the letters, calculate the net price for each school: cost of attendance minus all grants and scholarships. Do not include loans in this calculation. Loans are obligations, not gifts. Build a simple comparison table with five columns: school name, annual cost of attendance, total annual grants and scholarships, annual net price, and grant renewal conditions. This table is the foundation of your financial decision. Share it with your student and discuss the range. If any school has a significantly better net price, identify whether a financial aid appeal at other schools is warranted before committing. For families with meaningful differences between packages, appeals submitted this week and next can often produce responses before May 1.

Week 2: Campus Visits and Admitted Student Events

If your student has not visited their top two or three choices as admitted students, schedule those visits for the next two weeks. Admitted student days typically run through mid-April. Check the admitted student portal at each school for event schedules. Register immediately. Popular admitted student day sessions often fill. If travel is not possible, register for virtual admitted student events and schedule calls with student ambassadors through each school’s admissions office. Visiting or engaging with schools at this level of detail before committing is one of the highest-leverage investments of time you can make before May 1. The decision made with real, current, specific information is almost always better than the decision made from a distance based on assumptions.

Week 3: Financial Aid Appeals

If you are pursuing financial aid appeals at any schools, this is the window. Appeals submitted in the third and fourth week of April, before May 1, are processed while the school still has flexibility in its aid budget. Appeals submitted after May 1 or after you have committed elsewhere lose almost all leverage. Write the appeal professionally, include documentation for any changed circumstances, and reference any competing offers with specific numbers. Send to the financial aid office, not admissions. Follow up professionally after 10 business days if you have not heard back.

Week 4: The Decision

By the fourth week of April, your family should have enough information to make a final college decision. Use the financial comparison, the campus visit impressions, the program quality evaluation, and your student’s gut sense of where they want to build their next four years. Make the decision together but make sure the student owns it. A college choice made primarily by parents rather than by the student tends to produce a student who is less engaged and less accountable to their own outcomes. The decision conversation should end with your student saying which school they want to attend and why, in their own words. That clarity is a sign that the choice was made well.

May 1: Enrollment Deposit and Decline Letters

Submit the enrollment deposit at the chosen school through the admitted student portal. Then log into every other admitted school’s portal and formally decline the offer. Declining the offers you are not accepting is simple courtesy that frees up spots for waitlisted students and reflects well on your family’s character in the admissions community. After submitting the deposit, check immediately for what comes next at the committed school: housing application, orientation registration, and any outstanding financial aid verification. Most of these steps open on or around May 1. Starting them on the day you commit puts you ahead of the students who wait.

May 1 Through Late May: Transition Preparation

With the college choice made, the last weeks of senior year shift to transition preparation. Connect with your student’s future roommate once housing is assigned. Research the campus area for neighborhoods, transportation, and services. Complete any required health and immunization forms by the school’s stated deadline. If your student has a prescription medication, begin the process of arranging for a 90-day supply and understanding how to manage prescriptions independently. Most importantly, ensure senior spring grades remain consistent. Admission can be rescinded for significant grade drops. A strong, engaged senior spring is the right close to the high school chapter. For everything after the decision, see Summer Before College: The Complete Checklist for Every Incoming Freshman.

Frequently Asked Questions: The Next 60 Days After College Decisions

What if my student changed their mind after submitting the enrollment deposit?

Before May 1, changing your mind is straightforward. Contact the school you deposited at to withdraw and submit the deposit at your new choice. Most enrollment deposits are non-refundable, meaning you will lose the deposit at the first school, but that is the only consequence before the deadline. After May 1, the ethics of changing schools are more complex. Formally declining at the new school while committing elsewhere is the right approach if the change is necessary. Most families who change their mind after May 1 do so because a waitlist offer came in, which is the most common post-May 1 change scenario.

Can I apply for financial aid after May 1?

You can submit financial aid paperwork late, but there are real costs to doing so. Federal aid programs have priority deadlines that are typically much earlier. Submitting FAFSA late can cost access to state grant programs and first-come first-served institutional grants. At most schools, the financial aid package for late filers is assembled from what remains in the budget after on-time filers have been served, which is often less generous. If you have not filed FAFSA yet, do it immediately, not after May 1.

What is double depositing and why is it a problem?

Double depositing means submitting enrollment deposits at two or more schools simultaneously to hold spots at multiple schools while delaying your final decision past May 1. It is an ethical violation of the National Candidates Reply Date agreement and is tracked by a national database that schools use to identify students who have deposited at multiple schools. Students identified as double depositing can have both admission offers rescinded. There is no legitimate reason to double deposit. If you need more time, request an extension from the school’s admissions office, which some schools will grant in exceptional circumstances.

What should my student post on social media about their college decision?

This is genuinely a personal choice, but a few considerations are worth naming. Celebrating your student’s college decision is entirely appropriate and normal. Framing the post thoughtfully, celebrating the school your student chose rather than focusing on schools that rejected them, sets a positive tone. Senior classmates who received different results will see the post. A celebration is right. A comparison post is less so. Also: do not post anything that could be interpreted as disrespectful about any school until formal enrollment is complete. Social media posts have occasionally been flagged by admissions offices and while it is rare for these to affect enrollment decisions, it is not worth the risk.

What if my student is still waiting on decisions from schools after Ivy Day?

Some schools release decisions later than the Ivy Day cluster. UC Berkeley, for example, traditionally releases separate from other campuses. If your student is waiting on decisions that have not come in yet, do not commit elsewhere until you have seen all the results you are realistically expecting. If the remaining schools have later deadlines and your student has enough information to make a comfortable decision now, moving forward is also fine. Contact any schools where decisions have not arrived and ask for their expected release date if it has not been communicated.