Hello,
Where can I find, possibly a list, of the dates when applications open for different colleges. For example, UT Austin (which uses ApplyTexas) opens up August 1st. I know this through my counselor. Where can I find this online? I seem to only run into deadline dates rather than when applying becomes available.
Also, I understand that UT Austin does rolling admissions. However, with schools that don’t, such as Rice or Stanford, is there any benefit to applying early? Applications open August/September and are due January/December. Why would I submit early if everyone will end up being notified in April?
I think Common App starts at August 1 so all the schools that use the Common App open admission on August 1.
There are 3 ways of applying early:
- ED, Early Decision, Means that if the college accepts you, you HAVE to go unless you absolutely cannot pay. This boosts your chances significantly as it increases the College's yield and it shows interest in that school. You can only apply ED to one school.
- SCEA, Single Choice Early Action. Means that if the college accepts you, you don't have to go. Advantages are that schools that use SCEA like Harvard, Yale etc. seem to accept a majority of their applicants in the early round as applying SCEA shows interest in that particular school. You can't apply anywhere else early. Just that one school you can.
- Regular EA, Early Action. Same as SCEA, but you can apply to multiple schools EA AND apply ED to a school. So I can apply to MIT, CalTech, U Chicago all early AND apply to University of Pennsylvania ED. Regular EA doesn't show as much interest so it does not give too much of a boost in admissions.
Basically applying early means you get your decision on December. It allows for good strategy (so if you got accepted to Yale SCEA you can basically not sumbit any more apps if Yale is your top choice, or if you got rejected by a presumed safety school during EA, you still have time to readjust your college list) and allows you to have a nice winter break knowing you got in somewhere.
You can also get deferred which means first semester senior grades can boost your app or if you did anything significant between December and January, you can add that to there to boost your app.
Hope I helped, I know a lot to read.
@rdeng2614 Most, if not all, SCEA/REA allow you to apply EA to public colleges.
@rdeng2614 Hey thanks for the reply! Really appreciated.
I have a question about early application in the Regular admission process.
For example, my school allows us to request transcripts being sent to colleges in early-mid August. So if I decided to send one to Rice, and then send in my application, what is the benefit of doing it early?
I’m talking about Regular decision here where the due date is in early January 2016. Is there any reason then to send in my application way before that deadline, even if they don’t do rolling admission?
If it is not rolling, there is no real benefit by sending in RD applications months earlier. It may demonstrate your interest at that school though. I would not recommend to wait till the last couple weeks before deadline either.
I think the main benefit is that you have your application in and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Which is a big weight off your chest, especially if you have a rigorous senior year ahead.
Tulane’s exception for applying EA to public schools when applying SCEA is more limited:
http://admission.tulane.edu/apply/instructions/
For rolling admission schools, applying early means that you get a decision early (if admitted, it is a safety if you know you can afford it; if rejected, you may have time to alter your application list if you aimed too selective). At some schools, popular majors or divisions may be filled early and not be available for later applicants; the same may be true for some scholarships at some schools.