<p>I was wondering if there is any advantage to applying early to U of M... I've heard that there are "no advantages" from several people, and " poorly advertised, but important advantages" from several others. Just wondering what others have experienced?</p>
<p>For schools with rolling admissions, it is always good to apply early rather than late. The application is not complicated so it is not a hardship to apply early.</p>
<p>applying early decision shows the school that you really want to go there. also it shows that u have worked very hard to apply so early. This makes the applicant look very responsible and mature. Also they know ED students will go to their school because it’s the applicants number one choice. Thus the admissions officers usually pick more students from ED pool, but remember the ED applicant pool is usually smaller than the RDpool.</p>
<p>There aren’t really many advantages to applying early other than they have your application early and will let you know sooner. There’s also no required essay on the application so it shouldn’t even take you long unless you write about having some extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>cassan - FYI - it is perfectly fine for you to submit your app now with the understanding that even though you make the request, your HS guidance counselor prob won’t get their portion out until September. The UofMN has an application tracker so you can see what has been submitted and what is still missing. </p>
<p>As for submitting now…it is a wonderful feeling to have at least one acceptance early!</p>
<p>Shootingstar07, I don’t think U of MN has early decision. They are a rolling admissions school. OP, the application is pretty easy. Applying early means you get an acceptance earlier, which can really take some pressure off you this fall. At least you KNOW you are going to college no matter what else happens! 
Your high school still needs to send your transcripts before they will make a decision, but getting your app in early shows interest. Also, at rolling admissions schools, they can drag out giving decisions if you wait until the “busy” period of the fall to apply. That can be frustrating. So if you know you want apply, it is good to do it now.</p>
<p>Not sure about U of MN’s policies, but if you make a decision and accept early, it might help you in housing selection (does at some schools).</p>
<p>Has anyone gotten the Golden Gopher application yet? My son received a letter more than two weeks ago saying he would receive this “later this summer.” I would love to save the app fee if that is really on the way…</p>
<p>^My daughter also received the letter, but has not yet received the Golden Gopher application.</p>
<p>For housing (if they don’t change it for this year): if you believe you “might” go to Minnesota, send in the housing deposit as soon as they start taking applications (normally around late Oct./early Nov.). It is only $25 (non-refundable) but they assign the dorms according to the date you send in the deposit. </p>
<p>You can submit the deposit even if you haven’t received your acceptance from Minnesota. We deposited on the first day (just in case and good thing we did) and DS got his first choice. Definitely do not wait until until March/April to deposit – some of those kids are at the dorm in St. Paul or haven’t received a housing assignment yet.</p>
<p>We got a letter about the Golden Gopher Application but went ahead and applied last week on line. I asked earlier about this application and someone said that they send out 30,000 of them so I didn’t see any advantage to waiting for the application. My daughter is Hispanic and is suppose to go to a barbeque next week for Hispanic students so I’ll ask the admission officer about the Golden Gopher. If it helps admission I’ll see if they can make a note in her file that she was offered it but applied early. The application is very simple so now we just have to wait. Does anyone have any idea when the first decisions will go out? We applied to the University of Iowa and should get some answer from them in the next two weeks. The U of M is #1 choice but wanted my daughter to have some choices just in case.</p>
<p>Last year, students were posting the decisions around the middle/late October time frame. I believe DS received his letter around the first week of November but I can’t find his admission letter. His honors college notification arrived around the 2nd week of December as did his engineering scholarship.</p>