The application process is stressful enough without having to deal with erroneous admissions information.

No matter what decision you receive from a particular college, you may want to keep those high or low feelings a bit contained for the first 24 hours. After all, while technology has changed the landscape of how students are notified, it is far from glitch free.

This article in the New York Times reveals one recent experience in which students received quite a shock when they realized that the acceptance message they received from Vassar was quickly turned into a rejection letter. One student from Somers High School in Westchester County who received the false acceptance, said in an e-mail, “My mom called, like, my entire family. It was just a big letdown.”

While definitely an undesirable experience, it’s always nice to see the silver lining as Kareen Troussard, a student in Paris, was able to do. In an e-mail she alluded to the gaffe saving her from making a big mistake attending the school:  “I want to major in computer science, and Vassar doesn’t even know how to use a computer on the biggest day of our lives.”

Did you know that you could calculate what college will cost?

Aware of the ever-rising cost of college and to promote cost transparency, the federal government instituted an October 2011 deadline for colleges to post a net-price calculator on their sites. As reported in this article published on twincities.com, the calculators have been eye opening to high school students like Shawnia Johnson leading her to modify her college list and begin to focus on working and saving more. For senior Adithya Balaji, the calculators were a great stress relief: "Going into the final stretch without having any idea what to expect [in terms of financial aid] would be really stressful. The calculators are useful in setting real expectations."

While awareness of the calculators, as well as their visibility on college sites, must be improved, it is a step forward towards making the application process less tense. As Brian Lindeman, financial aid director at Macalester College puts it, “Applying for financial aid can be a very mysterious process. This is a great way to get an early visual estimate of what paying for college might look like."

Get ready for the new Common App

There is no doubt that the Common App has gone from relatively unknown to an almost mandatory pathway to applying to college in the past couple decades. The growth has been tremendous with 456 colleges currently accepting the Common App, and hundreds more poised to jump on board. This year alone, approximately 750,000 students have used the form to submit 3 million applications, a 25% increase from last year.

A recent article by Jacques Steinberg details the new system the Common App will be creating in order to accommodate future increases in traffic. According to Rob Killion, executive director of Common Application, “If we stick with the architecture of the current system through the end of the decade, with the growth we’re seeing, there would be delays during peak periods, for students and for our member colleges getting applications. This will all soon be groaning if we don’t do something now.”

Common App 4.0 aims to fix existing glitches including sections being truncated when an application is not previewed prior to submitting, or if too many characters are used in certain fields. Further, it will be capable of handling the continued growth which it is expected to receive including over 10 million applications filed to over 1000 schools.

Is your facebook page ready for the college admissions process?

Colleges are looking for ways to better get to know their applicants, and there is no longer any doubt that social networking sites are playing a key role in this process. According to this article, a Kaplan study surveyed 359 college admission officers from 500 universities. Results showed that approximately 24% of college admissions officers search social media and 20% reported performing a search on Google. While this number may seem low, it is definitely on the rise! And 12% of admissions officers’ stated that social media profiles negatively affected their college applications.

For better or for worse, expect that college admissions officers will be checking facebook, twitter, and youtube to see how you represent yourself. While this can be disconcerting, it can also be an opportunity to update your online image so you are sure to impress not only admissions officers but future employers as well!

The Early Decision applicant pool continues to widen

According to a recent article in the New York Times, Early Decision, once popular only among east coast applicants from elite private schools, has widened its appeal. Jess Lord, dean of admissions and financial aid at Haverford, describes this shift: “Early decision historically tended to be more homogenous than the regular pool — more white, more upper-class and upper-middle-class, less international. That’s changing fast.”

Recent reports from top colleges indicate that two to four times as many international applicants are applying early. And this shift has affected who is getting early acceptances. Fifty-six percent of student accepted early to Princeton University were from public schools this year, up from 50 percent 5 years ago, and Harvard’s early admits were nearly 20 percent black or Hispanic, up from 15 percent in 2005.

How will you pay for college?

Now that we’re in January, and many of you have finished your applications, more questions may be popping up regarding paying for college. Here are a few frequently asked questions that you may find helpful.

1. What is the difference between loans, grants, and scholarships?

Grants and scholarship are free monetary awards and do not need to be paid back. Grants may be offered without service requirements like Pell Grants, or with research requirements as is often the case of graduate students. Scholarships can be awarded on various criteria including merit, talent, major, or ethnicity. Loans must be repaid, with interest.

2. I probably won’t qualify for financial aid. Should I apply anyway?

Yes. It’s free to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, so even though you don’t think you’ll receive aid, it’s worth trying. You may also qualify for other sources of aid such as unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loans that are available regardless of need.

3. Do I need to be admitted to a particular university before I can apply for aid?

No. You can apply for financial aid any time after January 1. However, to receive the funds, you must be admitted and enrolled at the university.

For more information on filling out the FAFSA, check out these questions and answers addressed by expert Mark Kantrowitz in the NY Times Choice blog.

For those of you who are denied entry to your top choice - don't fret. There are many, many fish in the sea, and though it may seem that your top choice is all there is, once you find the school that's right for you, you'll wonder why you were every interested in anyplace else.

Now's the time to get started on the rest of your writing if you haven't already, and to get organized with the Essay RoadMap to minimize the amount of work that's required of you. As always, let us know if you need help getting started! That's what we're here for.

Harvard reinstated its early admission program this year.

As many of you know, the early admission deadlines for schools recently passed. For those of you anxiously waiting till December 15^th when most results are posted, you can check out this chart of early admission application counts for top schools as well as last year’s early admission rates, published by The New York Times Choice Blog. You may notice a decrease in a few of the most selective schools due to this year's reinstatement of Early Admission programs at Harvard and Princeton.

For those of you who weren't on hand for an in-person demo, you can email us at info@collegeessayorganizer.com anytime, and we can set up a time to walk you through it. IECA members are also entitled to one free student account per season, so please contact us if you have not already done so, so we can get you set up.

Thanks again to all of you who came by to introduce yourselves in person. Talking with our members enables us to keep making improvements, and lets us know that we are meeting your needs.

We will be answering all questions and providing private demonstrations as requested. Plus, one IECA member who stops by will win a FREE master account with four student accounts to be used this season or next!

It has been a terrific year for us at College Essay Organizer, in large part because of IECA and its wonderful membership, and we're excited to be joining you in Dallas.

See you soon!