Deciding whether or not to apply to a college or university depends largely on the whether or not you meet the admissions requirements, and whether or not you can submit your application documents by the school’s deadline.

After you’ve established your wish list of schools, it’s important to closely examine each of their admissions requirements and when you should have each requirement done. When do all of your admissions application documents need to be submitted to each college or university? Will you have the application fee ready by their deadline? When is the last day you can sit for the SAT, GRE, TOEFL or other required standardized exam so the results can be sent to your school(s) of choice by their application deadline? If your transcripts are in a language other than English, can you have them officially translated in enough time? Will your most current bank statements prove that you meet the minimum financial requirements that some schools ask prospective students to meet? How much time will your former teachers and/or employers need to write your letters of recommendation? How much time will you need to write your personal statement? These are not only questions you need to ask, but they’re ones that you’ll need to answer as honestly as possible. Your application packet needs to be of the highest quality so the admissions department will take your interest in their school seriously. You don’t want to pull everything together at the last minute.

When you’ve answered all of the questions above, it’s time to create a visual of the due dates for each school’s admissions requirements. Some people use an actual calendar (month-to-month or a calendar with all twelve months of the year displayed on one page) to chart the official and self-prescribed deadlines for each school’s admissions requirements. The calendar on your handheld device is, of course, another option. Other people use spreadsheet or database programs to map out the tasks they need to complete. There’s more than one way to mark the milestones you need to reach in this process. The most crucial idea here is to put the info down in a way that works for you.

Getting your application materials together to submit to a college or university’s admissions office is a step-by-step process. In the end, it’s all about creating a do-able, deadline-driven plan and committing to it so you can continue down your path as an African scholar.

* Choosing a College and Getting Accepted (CCGA) will be a weekly series of posts with information and tips for those of you who are pursuing (or considering to pursue) an undergraduate/graduate degree in North America. All comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.