<p>If I finish an app, should I submit it immediately to get the advantage of being read earlier, or should I wait a few days to get the advantage of further essay editing?</p>
<p>To begin with you are not “early” which would have been submitting a month or two ago. Have all necessary materials other than application been sent such as official test scores, transcript, and rec letters if required? No one other than a clerk will ever review your file until all required materials are in. If your essay still needs work you should work on it and get it done. If you feel you are done now, send, but sending now does not mean your file might be reviewed earlier and definitely won’t mean it unless you have already also sent everything else required.</p>
<p>All the above notwithstanding, as long as you feel comfortable with your essays, I think you should not wait. Every year there are tons of last-minute submissions. Maybe you get no brownie points for not being one of them, but for sure you don’t put yourself at risk for the headaches and worries that sometimes plague last-minute applicants: server crashes, power outages, etc.</p>
<p>I have heard some admissions officers say, “I do notice if you submit your application at 11:58 p.m. on January 1. You’ve met the deadline, of course, but I notice.”</p>
<p>^ Exactly. I mean, even in the case of schools without rolling admissions policies, you won’t get a significant boost for applying early, but it would be good if you could submit your app a bit earlier so you won’t have to deal with technical difficulties such as server crashes. Plus, it’s exactly as Sikorsky said – the adcoms do notice the date and time at which your app was submitted.</p>
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<p>If only you could teach my kids to say that…</p>
<p>Hahahaha. Good one 
Though I hear you; I’m not exactly very eager to become a parent myself. 
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<p>(to the OP: sorry for the brief digression!)</p>