<p>How do college admissions officers look at the time an applicant sent in their application, with respect to the deadline? Does applying early really carry that much weight?</p>
<p>For rolling admissions, absolutely. Applying early gives you a great advantage. If you apply right before the deadline, there might not be any room for you!</p>
<p>For most schools, just getting it in before the deadline is all that matters, unless as mentioned above the school has a rolling deadline.</p>
<p>Applying early only helps if that school has rolling admissions as mentioned. If a school has a specific deadline, applying early gives no advantage although it is easier for schools to inform you about missing documents.</p>