This is probably a basic question but I’m confused.
When is the appropriate time to submit an application for regular admission? I understand each college will have it’s own deadlines. Aren’t those the absolute last day you can submit?
Say the deadline is 4/1/2020 for a Fall start date. Is there an advantage to submitting an application earlier than that date? Do school make the decisions earlier?
I have twin girls that are seniors this year. One has a favorite school and she wants to apply for early action. The other doesn’t and is apply for several different school for regular decision. The early action school has an 11/1 deadline. That part is easy. I just don’t understand when is the best time to submit for regular decision.
Unless the college offers rolling admissions, there is no usually advantage to sending before the from an admissions standpoint. There is something to be said for getting applications off one’s plate, but the submit button should only be pushed if the applicant is 100% satisfied with the application, has proofed the essays, has reproofed them, has gotten someone else to proof, has run spellcheck, etc.
Honestly, if the app is done and your student feels good about it… submit. If it’s a rolling admissions, you may get a decision w/in a few weeks. If not, you won’t get a decision any quicker but it’s another check mark in the “done” box. Senior year goes by SO fast and can be so stressful, it’s nice when something gets crossed off the to-do list.
I would also caution against waiting until the evening of the cutoff day to submit. Every year we see posts from panicked students who can’t get their Common App essays to format correctly or can’t get the application to load. Giving yourself a couple of days of buffer can cut the stress.
My suggestion…get the applications done as soon as possible. Getting these off the student plate makes the senior year so much nicer.
Our kids submitted their applications by mid-October. Some were rolling admissions or EA and they had decisions before thanksgiving…and even more before Christmas. Since they were submitting the EA and rolling admission applications , they figured it was just as easy to submit them all…so they did.
Then they enjoyed their senior year of high school without the burden of having applications to submit.
They also watched many of their friends who were working on college applications during the holiday season…and vacation…and they were SOOOO glad theirs were done.
My opinion!
Thanks for the information. I totally agree with getting it out of the way. (of course that’s me. not them. lol) They are in marching band in the fall and are super busy. I’m trying to get them to make progress without causing undo stress.
The one the isn’t looking at the EA school thinks she has tons of time. I suppose that is and isn’t true. Yes she has time but there are consequences to that. One of her schools has a 1/1 deadline date. Maybe I’ll tell her she should shoot for 12/1 to be the deadline for all of the schools.
Be sure that there are no early deadlines for being considered for merit or honors college. Some schools have 11/1 deadlines for $/honors even if the regular decision deadline is 1/1.
Also, be aware that deadlines for applying for financial aid and/or scholarships can be different than the admission deadlines.