An application task should be marked complete only after the applicant has verified the work against the applicable requirements stated by the relevant institution. EducationUSA says U.S. application requirements can vary greatly from one institution to another, so a generic checklist cannot establish completion across applications.
Check the institution-specific requirements
EducationUSA tells applicants to check the specific requirements on the website of each institution's international admissions office. The relevant institution's international admissions website is the starting point for verification, rather than a general checklist.
Apply a practical completion test
Before marking a task complete, the applicant should be able to:
- identify the institution and the applicable requirements;
- compare those requirements with the work already completed; and
- identify any missing or unclear element that still needs resolution.
If the applicant cannot connect the completed work to the institution's stated requirements, the task is not yet verified. This test does not assume that every institution uses the same documents, deadlines, fees, or other requirements.
Confirm what remains unspecified
EducationUSA's guidance identifies where to check, but it does not provide enough information to set a universal document list, deadline, fee, or completion standard. The applicant must confirm those details for the individual institution. If the international admissions website does not make the applicable requirement or completion standard clear, the task should remain unverified until the missing detail can be verified.