I accidentally missed the deadline to pay the application fee for one of the colleges I applied to. Will this affect my application being reviewed? How should I handle this situation with the admissions office?
Most colleges won't begin reviewing your application until it's complete, and in most cases, an application isn't considered complete until the application fee or fee waiver request has been received. The sooner you sort this out, the better.
It's important for you to contact the admissions office as soon as possible. Explain your situation honestly and ask if you can still pay your application fee. If they allow you to pay it, do so immediately. Different institutions have different policies, so it's hard to say definitively what will happen, but in many cases, schools are understanding and willing to work with applicants given unexpected circumstances like these.
In some cases, they might just issue you a new deadline for the application fee. However, remember to prevent this kind of situation in the future by making appropriate checklists and reminders. These kind of details—timelines, due dates—are just as important as crafting a well-written essay or filling out the application itself.
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