University Application Tracker

Who this is for

Every application on one page, with the deadlines counting down. Each row is one course at one institution: when it has to be in, what they ask for as you understood it, where it has got to and what the offer said.

Students applying to universities, colleges or conservatoires — at home or abroad, for a first degree or a postgraduate place — and the parents, teachers and advisers helping them keep the dates straight.

What this helps you track

• Each course and institution you are applying to, with the deadline you were given
• How many days are left before each one
• What each application asks for, written down from the course page in your own words
• Where each application has got to, from not yet sent to accepted
• The terms of any offer, so the conditions are on the same line as the course

How to use it

1. Write your name, the year of entry and the school, college or adviser helping you at the top.
2. Add a row for each course: the institution, the course title and the deadline exactly as the institution or application service states it.
3. The days-left column counts from today in the browser version and the workbook; on paper, write the figure in.
4. Write what each course asks for in the requirements column — grades, subjects, tests, a portfolio, an interview — taken from their own published information.
5. Update the status as things happen and copy the terms of any offer into the offer column when it arrives.
6. Use the checklist for the pieces every application tends to need, and tick accepted on the one you take.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does it include the application deadlines?

No. Deadlines are set by each institution and application service, differ by course and country, and change from year to year. Take them from the source and write them in; the days-left column does the counting.

What goes in the requirements column?

Whatever the course page says it wants, in your own shorthand — the subjects, grades, tests or portfolio pieces. It is a note of what you read, not a statement of what any institution requires.

Can I use it for college, apprenticeship or scholarship applications?

Yes. Anything with an institution, a deadline, a set of requirements and a decision fits the columns. Rename the headings in your head and carry on.

What is the difference between offer and accepted?

The offer column records what they said, including any conditions. The accepted tick is for the one place you have chosen to take — usually a single tick on the sheet.