Confirming receipt of application materials

[Anonymona]

Question: How are you all confirming that the school has received all of your application materials? Should I trust the "check status" page, or should I call/e-mail as well?

 

Can't tell whether I'm being paranoid or cautious.

 

Current grad students, please share your wisdom as well.

[geographyrocks]

If they have a page that updates when you submit materials, I wouldn't worry about it.  If you there is no confirmation that materials are received, definitely ask.  I know a lot of people say graduate coordinators and office staff are over-worked during this time (and they are!), but this is something that they expect when they don't have a page that confirms receipt of materials. 

Also, my email got lost when I applied to my current school.  If I hadn't called to confirm, I wouldn't be here. 

Moral of the story: When in doubt, ask!

[museum_geek]

Every school I've applied to so far has had an "application status" page that shows whether or not all your materials have been received.  Not every school has sent me an email explaining that this page exists though, so it might be a good idea to check the school's admission portal once your application is submitted.