Should I bother applying early?

<p>Stanford is my first choice and I want to apply early there but if you do that they let you apply early to other public schools EA and rolling. I'm planning on U of M for a safety school, and what I'm wondering is whether I should bother to apply earlier to U of M since I want to focus on my Stanford app then and if my chances are really good no matter when I want to apply... Yeah, I'd want to go into LSA, Honors if I could.</p>

<p>basic stats are 35 ACT
3.97 UW gpa on basically all advanced courses
got 3 5's on my ap tests just took
live in Ann Arbor, double legacy
won a bunch of tennis state championships, other e.c.s?</p>

<p>Is there any benefit to applying early or am I pretty much safely in no matter when I apply?</p>

<p>benefit=instantly takes (a good amount) of stress off if you know you're going to a great school in mid-November. won't affect your chances-you're a solid safety</p>

<p>apply early for scholarship money.</p>

<p>I'd guess in and Honors college no matter when you apply, but it can't hurt to try and get it done early. If you think about it, most of the application is just listing stuff you've already done, so it shouldn't take that long. The essay is the only part that should be really time consuming, and with your stats it's not like you'll need an extremely stellar essay to get in here. Also, the tennis EC should carry more weight at U of M since admissions people here should be familiar with the strength of tennis in the Ann Arbor area, and the dedication that's required to be successful. Out of curiosity, which state titles did you win?</p>

<p>UMich is certainly a safety for you, but like maguo1 said, I would apply early in hopes of gaining scholarship money.</p>

<p>From that, start on your essays now, such that once Stanford's essays come out, you will be able to have your UMich essays done; thus, focusing all of your time on Stanford's application.</p>

<p>Regardless, it is always wise to apply early if there are no binding terms.</p>

<p>3 team state titles and 2 individ. doubles state titles for d1.</p>

<p>So I have no idea about scholarship $...does applying earlier to places like U of M inc. chances or getting more dough?</p>

<p>Oh, and what exactly does the honors college mean?</p>

<p>First, it is very important to apply early to have the best chance of receiving merit money. They dole it out in the fall, and when it's gone, it's gone. If you apply early, you have an excellent chance of receiving merit money.</p>

<p>As far as honors, it is an honors program, not a college. As member of the honors program you are able to take course designated as honors which are generally smaller and more challenging. You also getting advising done through the honors program. My son has already registered for his freshman classes this fall. All four of his classes are honors, and he was told that three of them would have about 25 students - which is pretty remarkable for a school the size of Michigan during freshman year. The larger class is Great Books.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I would actually strongly advise against the honors program. I did it freshman year. I guess taking great books was kinda cool, but I think you can take it without being in honors. Being in honors can also limit your course scheduling, as you have to have 2 honors courses/semester. This is easy freshman year, but after that, it seems really hard.
Then there are the weekly luncheon things, which I never went to and I don't think many people did.
The advising in honors is no better than LSA regular. I actually could not stand my honors advisor.
So, I guess the biggest benefit is that you get honors housing, which I applied for and didn't get. Instead, they stuck me in Fletcher.
Being in honors doesn't mean you'll graduate honors, and not being in honors doesn't mean you can't graduate with honors.</p>

<p>"I guess taking great books was kinda cool, but I think you can take it without being in honors."</p>

<p>No you can't, my friends tried.</p>

<p>"Being in honors can also limit your course scheduling, as you have to have 2 honors courses/semester."</p>

<p>I can't think of anybody who actually took that requirement into consideration when scheduling classes.</p>

<p>"The advising in honors is no better than LSA regular. I actually could not stand my honors advisor."</p>

<p>Advising is much better. At honors orientation, I was told to up my schedule from 14 credits to 18. At regular orientation, they pretty much refuse to sign off on anything more than 16, and assume you're not capable. Also, apparently the Dean hands off a lot of stuff to one of the Honors advisors to deal with, which can be helpful.</p>

<p>Basically, you do Honors so that you can kind of be recognized as a capable student (and thus have more freedom), and for Honors housing (so you're surrounded by smarter people who are more likely to be in your classes). All you really have to do is ask to be considered and apaprently write an essay. It's really not a big deal if you get kicked out, so there's no harm in joining.</p>