Should I use a spreadsheet or calendar to manage university applications?

Use both because they solve different problems. A spreadsheet stores detailed requirements, owners, links, and status information for every university. A calendar shows when action must happen and helps you reserve time for essays, forms, and follow-ups. Put every fixed deadline and personal target date in the calendar, but keep supporting details in the spreadsheet. Review the two together once a week so that neither becomes outdated.

How often should I check my university application portals?

Check active portals once a week and more frequently only when a deadline or decision date is close. Constant checking rarely speeds up processing and can distract from IB coursework. After submitting, activate each university portal as soon as the instructions arrive and inspect the materials checklist. Allow the institution's stated processing time before reporting an item as missing. Record each confirmed receipt in your master tracker rather than relying on memory.

What is the difference between submitting an application and completing an application file?

Submitting an application means that your form and usually your payment have reached the application system. A complete file contains every item the university requires for review, which may also include transcripts, references, test scores, portfolios, or supplementary forms. These materials can arrive through different channels and on different dates. Your application may therefore show as submitted while the university portal still lists missing items. Treat the file as complete only when the receiving institution confirms receipt of all required materials.

How should IB students track predicted grades and transcripts?

Create separate tracker entries for the school transcript, IB predicted grades, midyear report, and final IB results because they are not interchangeable. Ask your counselor which documents the school provides, when they will be available, and how they will be sent. Do not enter a predicted grade as an achieved examination result. Some systems accept school-reported predictions, while others request grades through a counselor report or later applicant portal. Record both the date sent by the school and the date received by the university.

What should I do if two applications have the same deadline?

Rank the applications by complexity, dependence on other people, and personal importance. Finish the application requiring references, portfolios, or additional verification first because those elements create more opportunities for delay. Set separate personal deadlines several days apart even if the official deadlines match. Reuse factual information where appropriate, but review every response against the exact prompt and word limit. If time is genuinely insufficient, discuss priorities with your counselor rather than submitting several inaccurate applications.

How can I balance university applications with IB coursework during the fall term?

Separate your week into an IB lane and an application lane. Schedule two focused application blocks, usually one for writing and one for forms, email, and portal checks. Protect regular study sessions for your most important assessments, predicted-grade evidence, and IA deadlines. At the end of each week, choose one academic priority and one application priority for the next seven days. RevisionDojo Study Notes, Flashcards, Questionbank practice, and Jojo AI can help you maintain efficient revision when application work is unusually heavy.

Back to all posts

Stay Organized Across Multiple Application Systems

IB Diploma University Applications IB Study Guides

• 29 Sept 2026•10

Stay Organized Across Multiple Application Systems

Join 650k+ students breezing through the IBReady to breeze through the IB?

Stay Organized Across Multiple Application Systems | RevisionDojo

Back to all posts

Stay Organized Across Multiple Application Systems

IB Diploma University Applications IB Study Guides

• 29 Sept 2026•10

Applying to universities in several countries can mean managing Common App, UCAS, OUAC, direct applications, scholarships, and university portals simultaneously. To stay organized across multiple application systems, use one external master tracker rather than relying on separate platform dashboards.

This matters during the September-to-November IB term, when coursework, predicted grades, references, admissions tests, and early deadlines often overlap. An effective system gives every requirement a deadline, owner, status, and official source.

Why multiple application systems become confusing

Application platforms organize information differently. Common App separates general information from college-specific requirements, UCAS connects course choices with a school reference, and OUAC applications may lead to additional university portals.

Submitting the central form may be only one stage. Universities can require supplementary forms, portfolios, test scores, financial aid documents, or account activation afterward. No single platform reliably displays tasks located elsewhere.

IB students also coordinate materials controlled by different people. Counselors may submit transcripts, predicted grades, references, and school reports, but students remain responsible for checking what each institution requires.

Build one master application tracker

Create a spreadsheet with one row per university or course choice, not one row per platform. Two universities using Common App may have different essays, testing policies, and deadlines.

Field	What to record
University and course	Institution, campus, major, or UCAS course code
Application system	Common App, UCAS, OUAC, or direct portal
Admission plan	Early Decision, Early Action, regular, rolling, or equal consideration
Official deadline	Date, time, and time zone from the official source
Internal deadlines	School deadline and personal target date
Student tasks	Essays, forms, payment, tests, and portfolio
School tasks	Transcript, predictions, reference, and school report
Additional forms	Scholarships, financial aid, residence, or departmental forms
Status	Not started, drafting, requested, ready, submitted, or received
Verification	Official link and date last checked

Add notes for word limits, interviews, and score-reporting rules. The tracker is your planning source of truth, while official platforms remain the places where information is submitted.

Separate deadlines into four layers

A university can have several relevant deadlines. Tracking only the final submission date creates unnecessary risk.

Official application deadline

Use the date published by the university or application service. For 2027 UK entry, UCAS lists 15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time for Oxford, Cambridge, and most medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine or science courses. The equal-consideration deadline for most other undergraduate courses is 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time.

Common App institutions set their own deadlines. Common App explains that applications are generally due by 11:59 p.m. in the applicant's local time zone on the displayed date, but applicants should verify each college's instructions.

School deadline

Schools often require materials earlier so counselors can check qualifications, add predicted grades, prepare references, and submit documents. For UCAS, the application cannot be sent without its reference, making the school's internal date operationally important.

Ask for the school calendar in September. Record separate dates for requesting references, confirming predictions, reviewing forms, and authorizing submission.

Personal target date

Set a target 7-14 days before the applicable school or official deadline. This buffer allows time for payment failures, portal errors, missing documents, and final corrections. It should be used for checking, not first drafting.

Follow-up deadline

After submission, universities may issue new dates for supplementary applications, financial documents, interviews, or applicant-portal tasks. Transfer each date from the email or portal into your calendar immediately.

Follow a September-to-November plan

September: map the process

Finalize your university list, identify every platform, and enter all known requirements into the tracker. Verify information on official university or course pages rather than general deadline summaries.

Request references and confirm how your school sends IB transcripts and predicted grades. Predictions are not achieved results and should never be entered as final examination scores. The RevisionDojo guide to IB predicted grade submission explains this distinction.

Prepare reusable source documents:

A complete activities and awards inventory
An accurate list of IB subjects marked HL or SL
School, address, identity, and qualification details
A folder for transcripts, scores, portfolios, and receipts
A list of essay prompts, limits, and destinations

October: prioritize dependent tasks

Complete October applications first. Next, address work involving other people, including references, transcript requests, predicted-grade confirmation, and portfolio review.

Do not submit identical writing without checking each prompt. UCAS responses, a Common App essay, and academic supplements assess different evidence. Maintain a bank of experiences, then adapt material honestly and precisely.

The global IB university application guide helps compare national procedures. US applicants can consult the IB guide to US college applications for accurate reporting of subjects, transcripts, and predictions.

November: submit and verify

Many US early plans have November deadlines, although dates vary. The Common App first-year guide confirms that institutions determine their own writing, testing, and recommendation requirements.

Before submitting, compare the preview with your passport and school records. Check your legal name, birth date, course levels, grades, admission plan, intended major, essay attachment, and payment.

Save the confirmation and a PDF copy where available. Mark the application submitted, but not complete until the institution confirms receipt of all required materials.

Organize files, accounts, and responsibilities

Use folders for the master tracker, each application system, financial aid, and submission confirmations. Label drafts consistently, such as University_Course_Draft03_2026-10-12, and keep only the current version in a FINAL-CHECK folder.

Use a password manager and multi-factor authentication where offered. Keep passwords out of shared spreadsheets, use a regularly checked personal email address, and filter messages containing phrases such as “action required” or “application received.”

Assign every tracker task to the student, counselor, teacher, parent or guardian, or testing agency. Work handled by someone else should be marked requested, not complete. Record the request date, follow-up date, and confirmation of receipt.

Protect your IB workload

Use two fixed application sessions weekly, one for writing and one for administration. Preserve separate study periods for IB revision, assessments, and coursework.

During a short weekly review:

Sort the tracker by the earliest internal deadline.
Choose one writing and one administrative priority.
Follow up on requested materials.
Check submitted-application portals once.
Schedule IB study before optional application work.

The RevisionDojo plan for balancing IB and university applications provides a practical two-lane structure.

Common mistakes to avoid

Tracking application deadlines but missing scholarships, tests, or portfolios
Assuming submitted means every document has been received
Using unofficial summaries instead of checking primary sources
Ignoring time zones or school-specific internal deadlines
Entering predicted grades as achieved results
Reusing essays without checking the prompt and word limit
Checking portals constantly instead of following a schedule

Conclusion

To stay organized across multiple application systems, centralize planning while treating official portals as authoritative. Track each university separately, distinguish official and internal deadlines, assign ownership, and verify receipt after submission.

RevisionDojo can help protect the academic side of your schedule through Questionbank, Flashcards, Study Notes, and Jojo AI while you complete applications in focused blocks.

Sources and referenced URLs

Add as a preferred source on Google