How do I know if I've been admitted to college?

I'm really anxious about hearing back from colleges. How do I typically find out about admissions decisions—do they come by email, mail, or a portal, and how long does it usually take?

All colleges send out their decisions in different ways, but in general, colleges typically notify applicants of their admissions decisions either by email or through an online portal that you’ve set up when you applied to the college.

Admissions decisions typically arrive at varying times, depending on the type of application (i.e., early decision, early action, regular decision) and the college itself.

For instance, if you're an early decision or early action applicant, you'll likely find out in mid-December. If you submit a regular decision application, you'll generally hear back somewhere between late March and early April. In either case, you should check the specific schools' websites, as some of them may list their decision release dates.

For some colleges, you might receive your acceptance letter by mail—either in addition to the online notification, or exclusively by post. It’s worth noting here that many applicants have reported that rejections often come through online notifications, while physical acceptance packets are sent to those who have been admitted.

Remember to check your junk mail occasionally in the event that an email from the college got accidentally filtered out. Also, regularly log into your online portals to make sure you're staying up-to-date with all communications from the colleges.

Lastly, be aware that the time it takes to hear back after submitting an application varies from school to school, and what type of application plan you applied under (early action, early decision, or regular decision). There's no exact timeline, but again, mid-December for early applicants and late March for regular decision applicants are common time frames.