<p>If you are applying Early Decision or Early Action, is it an advantage to send the application earlier than the November due date?? What about for Yale specifically?</p>
<p>I don't know anything specific about Yale, and I'm sure that there are exceptions, but I think the rule at most selective colleges is that Sept, Oct., early Nov. are devoted to interviews, college fairs, road trips, and other activities that get students into the applicant pool. Folder-reading season doesn't really begin in earnest until near the deadlines, so I don't think there's much advantage to getting an app in early in non rolling-app situations.</p>
<p>Keep in mind... if you need hard $$$ and a lot of it, ED or EA can be a real biter. Money is a huge thing to consider when it comes to ED/EA.</p>
<p>The only advantage of applying to Yale earlier than the EA submission date is that your name gets processed to the local volunteer who manages alumni interviews earlier. Given that that Yale may have a massive number of people applying EA this year because Harvard and Princeton have dropped their early programs, you have a better shot of getting an alumni interview if you apply early. If there is a huge influx of early applicants, it may be hard for the local coordinator to all the interviews assigned in the very short turnaround time between the application submission date and the date alumni interview reports are due. I seem to remember that the admissions officers don't look at the applications until after the submission date.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>if you need hard $$$ and a lot of it, ED or EA can be a real biter.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Not true for EA. For EA (early action) your decision is non-binding and you don't have to commit to a college until May 1. The colleges all know this and they know you will be able to compare finaid packages in the spring when you receive all your other acceptances and finaid packages. EA is a non-binding early acceptance.</p>
<p>Now...ED...that's another story. When you apply ED (early decision), you are saying that you will attend this college if accepted. It is a BINDING early acceptance and you must withdraw all your other applications....no chance to compare packages. </p>
<p>Now back to the original question. It is my understanding that Early applications are read at a certain time (after the deadline for receipt or just shortly before). There is not any advantage to applying earlier or later in the process.</p>
<p>NOW...there IS an advantage to apply as early as possible to schools with Rolling Admissions. In these cases applications are reviewed as they are received, and the earlier you apply the more likely there will be places for you. If you apply later at a rolling admissions school, you run the risk of them having no openings. Re: finaid, at the rolling admissions schools my kids applied to, early was better as they also got an estimated finaid award.</p>
<p>It could be an "advantage" from your perspective- based on the amount of time you have earlier in the season vs. later. My oldest son tried to get all his applications done by the end of August, because he played varsity football. Once August 20-something rolled around, his day started at 7 and he got home at 7 PM. After that, he had dinner, shower, and homework. No time for working on college applications. Weekends were for "catch-up" and R&R. This schedule continued until Thanksgiving. So for him, it definitely was an advantage to get all his stuff out of the way.</p>
<p>Same here. Marching Band practice after school and heavy senior schedule was the reason that my D2 finished all her applications by August. Also, the schools that she applied to strongly encouraged earlier applications and all had early deadlines. Now, she can relax and enjoy her senior year whereas some of her friends are still stressing over essays!</p>
<p>Both of my kids had their college applications DONE and sent by the beginning of October for ALL of their schools (regular decision, early action and rolling admissions). Bottom line was that they had a much nicer senior year than many of their friends who were still agonizing about completing college applications even as late as February. Many spent Thanksgiving weekend, and the holiday break in December doing applications. My kids both felt it was GREAT to be done. </p>
<p>Now...did it matter to the schools? Only the rolling admission schools looked at their applications as they came in. I believe that EA and ED schools start looking at their applications after a set date (probably near the deadline). Regular decision is the same...after a certain date.</p>
<p>Ok, so since it seems the only advantage (from Yale atleast) is better chance to get alumni interview... would it matter for me if I live in Connecticut? I mean, I live 30 minutes away from Yale, can't they just accommodate an interview even after the EA deadline or is it a more complicated process then that?</p>
<p>Yale has a limited number of on-campus interviews available. I don't know the specifics, but don't assume that you can just call and schedule one whenever you want. On-campus interviews end November 15.</p>
<p>I don't anything about the Yale admissions process in particuler, but I would think getting your application in as early as possible is a positive attribute.</p>
<p>Yale receives over 20,000 applications a year. Based upon my discussions with other admissions reps at various universities, the application review process begins before the application deadline if an application has been fully submitted.</p>
<p>The advantage to getting it in early is as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>you demonstarte a certain sense of organization</li>
<li>you show the university that you are really intent on attending the school, so much so that you got your application in well before the deadline.</li>
<li>Admissions rep's will have more time to fully evaluate all the attributes of your application file, rather than look at the numbers alone. Once the deadline comes and goes, the pressure on admissions reps to process the applications mounts. therefore time becomes a valuable commodity to admissions reps and less time can be spent on a complete review of the application file.</li>
<li>in some instances, your housing priority may be based upon when you apply. this is the case for instance at the University of Florida. After you apply there, you get a housing number. obviously the later you apply, the worse you housing selection becomes. I know housing is a minor issue for many but some thing to think about. You should find out what the housing assignment process is at yale. I have no idea.</li>
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<p>just my opinion. good luck</p>
<p>Just as a point of information, at Yale there are 12 residential colleges, and admitted students are assigned to them over the summer. It makes no difference when you sent your application in.</p>
<p>Also speaking regarding Yale EA. Be aware that if your high school isn't "linked" (their term) for alumni interviews, you won't get one. My son's school wasn't linked. We didn't find that out until later. </p>
<p>I find it highly annoying because we are within a two hour drive of two major cities, where I know for a fact alumni interviews were done. He would have happily driven there for an interview. My S attended an extremely small, rural high school. My guess is the other "non-linked" schools were in similar circumstances. Very, very few students from these high schools will apply to Yale. They do not have most of the advantages of those in a suburban high school. Why should they not be allowed an interview?</p>
<p>On a positive note, maybe it didn't matter. He was admitted EA.</p>
<p>Srystress--Every state, or region within more populous states, runs its alumni interview system differently. In my state, there is no such thing as an unlinked school. If you're willing to drive and if you request an interview before the 11th hour, you'll get an interview. Every region is run by a volunteer and Yale doesn't control how the volunteer assigns interviews. I absolutely agree with you that the idea of an unlinked school stinks. </p>
<p>One thing people should know is that even in major cities with lots of alumni, there aren't necessarily tons of alumni interviewers. Yale doesn't do a good job of publicizing this volunteer opportunity, so people tend to hear about it by word of mouth. While there are some extraordinarily dedicated interviewers, most interviewers don't have time to do a lot of interviews. Also, lots of applicants do not indicate that they want an interview until late in the game when it's hard to line an interviewer up. They do this because they want Yale to be their last and most polished college interview, but it dimishes their chances of receiving an interview.</p>
<p>Is it possible to request an evaluative interview before I submit my full application.. because unfortunately, I doubt I will get my essays done before a few days before the deadline...</p>
<p>There is really no such thing as an evaluative interview at the top schools. Alums that interview cannot evaluate your chances of admission. As far as I know, the on-campus interviewers don't offer an evaluation either.</p>
<p>Hmm, well as far as I have read, Yale says on the FAQ page that interviews are evaluative.. and I've heard that Harvard is evaluative. My idea is that I want an interview that isn't just informative, but one that counts in some form or way in admissions, which as far as I have heard does exist (despite holding less and less weight in admissions than they used to).</p>
<p>Celita--Yale alumni and on-campus interviews do count in admissions, just not very much. Interviewers score you and write an evalulative essay for your file's readers. They are not evaluative interviews in the sense that you will get feedback on your chances of admission.</p>
<p>Right, and can I get these type of interviews or schedule one before I send in my FULL application? Because I doubt I will be able to finish my application essay until the deadline... is there any way to just schedule one despite not sending in the full application yet?</p>
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<blockquote> <p>is there any way to just schedule one despite not sending in the full application yet?>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>I don't know a thing about Yale's interviewing process. BUT I will say...if the above is an issue, FINISH THE ESSAY earlier, and schedule your interview.</p>