Will applying regular decision and submitting it a month or two before the January deadline have any impact on admissions chances? Is there any anecdotal or statistical evidence to suggest that it does? Asking because I have a few of my applications done, but I’ve figured I would wait until just before the deadline so that I can edit my essays and supplements as much as possible…
If there is no early cut-off for merit-based scholarships or some other goody you are interested in, then it is OK to send things in closer to the due date. But do send everything before that date so that you can verify that everything has arrived on time.
It is fine to send a few days before. Go ahead and get any test scores sent, make sure your school is on track to send transcripts, rec letters, etc. The colleges will just hold them and match them to your app. If you wait, you can tweak with any final accomplishments or awards before sending, too.
My son sent in three applications in late September, just because he considered them done and didn’t want to worry about them any more. He has since made minor tweaks to his common app essay for schools that he’s applying to later. He’s a bit regretful about not having the latest and greatest version of his common app essay at those early schools, but the relief of having half of the applications in the ‘finished and submitted’ column outweighs that.
Unfinished applications can be like a looming deadline ominously inching towards you. Hitting the submit button gets them off of your plate so you can spend energy on other things.
At some point, more editing and tweaking does more harm than good.
No, there is no impact.
At some schools AOs do read applications in the order in which they were received. Anecdotally, I have heard several AOs surmise/conjecture/speculate that there may be a benefit to having an app read earlier in the process by an AO with fresher eyes than said AO will have in March. AO reading fatigue seems to be a real thing. The book “The Gatekeepers” (although dated in some ways) touches on this topic several times.
Some schools have rolling admission and may become more selective as the class (or popular majors) fills up.
Some schools may have scholarships that may be awarded until the money runs out.
Apply early if either of the above applies to the school.
Yes, you can not stress about them over Xmas break…but if you need to bring your grades up, then wait until later so they can see your 2nd marking period grades