Learning & Education
College Admission Paperwork: Documents, Fees and Exam Dates
Beginner | 1 whiteboard page · Task board: 5 columns (5 parent tasks, 10 subtasks)
Beginner: No technical terms. Just answer the whiteboard's questions, following the examples, and it takes shape.
A college application deadline tracker, opened just before applications open, when a student and family need every deadline, document, fee and exam date for several schools in one place. The whiteboard states how many schools you apply to and who pays, walks the six steps to confirmed receipt, and tracks route, deadline, exam date, fee and status per school, plus a matrix exposing travel clashes. The task board splits the work into reading rules, preparing documents, paying, submitting and confirming, so each school moves from Not checked to Submitted and you see where any one is stuck.
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Application Deadline Hub
How to use: (1) Write the deadline, fee, and exam date for every school into the whiteboard grid → (2) Move each school card from Not checked to Submitted on the task board
How many schools, what it costs, who pays
- Number of schools and total cost Apply to at most four schools and set a ceiling on total entry fees. If the total goes over, drop one backup. Put results dates and enrolment payment deadlines in the same grid.
- Who pays and who sends Decide who pays the fee and who sends the documents, and write both names here (for example, a parent pays and the student submits). Every payment reference goes on this board so nothing is unpaid or paid twice.
- What cannot be recovered Miss a deadline by a single day and the chance to sit that exam is gone. Post rules differ on whether the envelope must arrive or only be sent, so copy the exact wording.
Six steps from reading the rules to confirmed receipt
- Read rules Get the official rules and write out route, deadline, and how post is counted
- Prep docs List every document and split what you write from what the school issues
- Order proofs Order school-issued records and ID photos early enough to clear processing time
- Pay fees Choose the payment method, pay, and copy the reference number into the grid
- Submit Double-check the entries, send, and finish two days before the deadline
- Confirm Confirm receipt and the admission ticket, then add the exam date to the schedule
Application tracker by school
| Route | Deadline | Exam date | Fee | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top choice | Standard route, 3 subjects | Post on day one, tracked | First of the run, morning start | Full fee, paid by card | Documents ready, awaiting payment |
| 2nd choice | Uses national test scores | Send two days before cut-off | No sitting, records only | Check whether a discount applies | Score release request not sent |
| Backup A | Standard route, 2 subjects | Final week, no counter drop-off | Day after the top choice, stay over | Bank transfer by a parent | Rules unread, document count unknown |
| Backup B | Recommendation, single choice only | Needs school approval to apply | Interview only, afternoon start | Enclose the fee waiver form | Submitted, reference number saved |
Find the exam dates that will not work
Vertical axis: How much you want it (low to high) / Horizontal axis: Travel and overnight burden (light to heavy)
- Your main entries Wanted most and easy to reach. Finish these documents first so you can send on day one
- Book travel with it Wanted, but heavy travel. Book the stay and transport as you apply, and avoid back-to-back days
- Keep as insurance Light burden and a free date. You want it less, so keep just one of these as a fallback
- Drop this one Heavy travel and low on your list. Cut these and put the fee and energy into your main entries
Application rules
- Treat two days before as your real deadline
- Always check if post must arrive or be sent
- Pay before you submit and allow a business day for it to clear
Where applications fail
- Fee paid but the form never submitted
- School records not issued in time
- Two backups sitting on the same day
What we found out
- Counter drop-off was not allowed, post only
- Photo size differed between schools
- Transfers cleared a business day late
Task board contents
Not checked 15 items
Read the entry rules
Collect the official entry rules for every school and write out the route, deadline, and submission method in your own words. Guess here and you will misread the deadline itself.
List entry routes
One school can offer several routes with different deadlines and documents, so list each route you plan to use on its own line.
Log deadlines
Copy the date, the cut-off time, and whether post must arrive or only be sent by that date, in the exact wording of the rules.
Gather documents
Build the document list per school and split it into what you write, what your school issues, and what needs to be photographed.
Request transcripts
School-issued records take days to produce, so order every copy you need in one go and note the collection date.
Get ID photos taken
Check the size and background rules per school, print spares, and keep the digital file for online forms.
Pay the entry fees
Decide the payment method per school, pay, and copy the reference number into the grid so nothing is left unpaid or paid twice.
Pick payment method
Choose card, bank transfer, or over the counter for each school, and record whether the student or a parent pays.
Save the receipts
Photograph the reference number and receipt, and store them as the values you will type into the application form.
Submit applications
Double-check the form entries and the envelope contents before you send, then keep the confirmation screen and the posting receipt.
Double-check entries
Match name, date of birth, chosen route, and payment reference against the documents character by character before sending.
Finish 2 days early
Treat two days before the deadline as your own cut-off for every school, leaving room for outages and missing paperwork.
Confirm and schedule
Confirm receipt and the arrival of the admission ticket per school, then pull every exam date into one schedule and remove clashes.
Check the receipt
Verify per school that the portal status has moved to received and that the admission ticket has arrived.
Fix date clashes
Line up the exam dates and venues, and rework your list if two fall on one day or the travel between them is impossible.
