I will be applying to quite a few colleges in the US whose application start dates range from August to September.
Most of them have about 2 months between the start and end date.
Does the date of submission matter? i.e. How beneficial is submitting early?
Unless it is rolling admission, unless there are early deadlines to qualify for certain scholarships, there is not any real difference.
So its better to submit around a week before the deadline?
I’m seeing you everywhere now XD
There’s no trick to this. Submit when you’re ready. The colleges won’t read them until your school documents and scores arrive anyway – and this is mostly out of your control.
@T26E4 Ok, thanks for the help! 
@t26e4
I’ve heard that some colleges favor that you turn in the apps a couple weeks early as it shows that your are on top of things.
I’ve also heard that some admissions officers read the applications that were submitted early before the rest so therefore it is beneficial as they have a clear mind.
Is any of the above true? My counselor is always telling me to send in apps early because of the reasons above (and also to avoid last minute panics).
@rdeng2614 Exactly. This is what I also heard and wanted to know whether it is true or not.
I’m no expert…but after attending many admissions talks, college fair talks and high school guidance talks (presumably all of these people were experts)…I never heard anyone say anything along those lines. The only advice I ever heard in that regard was don’t wait until the very last minute because servers may be overloaded. For both my kids we generally aimed for about 1 week before the deadline, though admittedly some were not submitted until a day or two before the actual deadline.
Agree with above post. Unless it is a rolling decision school, it makes no difference when the application gets in.
Hmm OK. Guess those sources were wrong then. Can’t seem to remember where I read it…
If a school has EA or ED, and you’re applying RD, you can be SURE that your app won’t be read until January or later. Rolling applications have already been discussed.
If you’re applying for EA or ED, I suppose a conscientious reader will start reading before the deadline of Nov 1st.
But for many, it’s all dependent on when your supporting docs arrive and are filed. For instance:
School has a Dec 31 deadline
Student A submits her RD application on Oct 15th. But her transcript, scores and rec letters arrive on Jan 30th.
Student B submits his RD app on Dec 30th. His school acts quicker and everything is submitted on Jan 2nd.
The readers will look at Student B’s file before looking at Student A.
@T26E4 Thanks for making it clear. I better not rush then…
@T26E4 thats what I was was thinking, submitting an app early for EA or ED might have an advantage as the adcoms might read the app beforehand (and with a fresh mind) so that might pose as an advantage.
There is no need to rush, but it is good to avoid those traffic. In addition, if you submit your application at least a week or two before deadline, you may have a chance to track your application for missing items before the deadline.