Now that you have your letters in hand and your decision made, take the time to inform all the people in your life who had a hand in your admission process about that decision. That includes the teachers who wrote recommendations, the high school college counselor who loaned you her College Board Handbook, the guidance counselor who advised you to take AP calculus, the English teacher who proofread your essays, the coach who wrote a letter to the athletic department, and the faculty advisor for the newspaper who encouraged you to write an editorial about the stress of applying to college. Let them know where you have decided to enroll and thank them for all they did to help you get there.

You can stop by their classroom or office to let them know in person, but a personal, hand-written thank you note is the most powerful and meaningful way to show your appreciation, according to Mark Moody, Co-Director of College Counseling at Colorado Academy -- and we agree! "Like many counselors, I have a folder full of them in my desk," he told us, "on rougher days, it's where we go to remember why we do this rewarding work in the college application trenches with you!"

Oh, and don’t forget a big thank-you for the people who have helped you get to this point for the last eighteen years . . . your parents.

As you look ahead to how you will spend your summer, we have some advice for you about leadership training or enrichment programs and on-campus academic programs. It is a myth that some of these programs can especially enhance your chances of getting into college.

Leadership training and enrichment programs— for example, the Congressional Youth Leadership Council or the National Young Leaders Conference— position themselves so that when the “invitation” arrives in the mail, students might think they have been specially selected to participate. But even if there are baseline GPA requirements and teachers are required to nominate students, these programs are not selective and have a hefty price tag of thousands of dollars. Undertake such an activity only if it aligns with your interests and is something you’d do even if colleges were never to learn about it. Participation will usually not be a plus factor in an admission decision.

Seniors, heads up! It is good form to take yourself out of the running at any college where you have been accepted but know with certainty you will not enroll. That way the college can offer your seat to another student who may want to enroll.

We felt it was worth repeating this plea from Terry Cowdrey, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, issued last year:  

A plea to school counselors: please encourage your students to respond to all of the schools where they were offered admission. College admissions offices are scrambling to determine if we can make offers to students on the wait list and dozens--no, hundreds--of admitted students have not confirmed their plans. We can assume they are going elsewhere but it would certainly be nice to know for sure. And it's just good manners.

So, members of the Class of 2014!, please extend this courtesy to the colleges that took the time to admit you. Think, as well, about your friends on wait lists and how happy and relieved they may feel to know sooner rather than later that they have been admitted from a college's wait list. A simple email will do the job. So, please just do it!

Mary Dell Harrington, co-founder of one of the blogs we love -- Grown and Flown -- looks back on her experiences guiding three teenagers through the college admission process in her most recent post, The Good, The Bad and the OMG of College Admissions. From road trips and the random nature of college admission to the revelations that occur as we accompany our children on this journey, Mary Dell's look back from the finish line has something for everyone -- great advice for those starting out and the comfort of the 20/20 hindsight of a fellow traveler on the cusp of the next great adventure with her child.