<p>I got an email from WUSTL saying that the application is now available for the class of 2013. I know it's a mass email and doesn't mean I have a shoe-in or anything, but would there actually be any advantage on starting the application this early? Did anyone get an email like this when they were a junior and started the application? Also, do many other schools send emails like this? I'm only a junior, but most emails I get are pointless, and I actually found this email to be somewhat informative.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is kind of a weird question but it's been on my mind.</p>
<p>Speaking as a Senior who recently got some unfavorable news (5 waitlists from all target schools, a rejection from my top choice and 1 ivy rejection) the best advice I can give to anyone is to start as early as possible. If WUSTL is your absolute first choice, make sure THEY know that. do your research, put in the time to write a slammin essay…the works. Admissions is getting tougher by the second, so do everything you can, it’s essential. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I agree/disagree with TribeBisonGreen. I definitely think if you love a school, you need to let them know it as early as possible. Visit, go to info sessions, email, whatever you can do while not being annoying. That’s what I did with Northwestern; I forced them to love me! But don’t start the application yet. Things will change. You don’t have all the info. You probably won’t still like your essays next winter. I really needed the adrenaline of a deadline to write the best essays I could. I finished Brown on December 30 and Princeton on December 31, and I was accepted and wait-listed. I wouldn’t change a thing; I needed the stress to do my best!</p>
<p>WashU is the king of marketing. Hence the email.</p>
<p>Show your interest in any way you can, emailing specific departments/professors with educated questions, info sessions etc. Write essays, and put them aside for further review. Start making a list of all the schools that interest you, and believe me that list will morph over the next few months, and you yourself will change and grow by Dec.31.</p>
<p>Don’t submit your application until a few weeks before it’s due, if that.</p>
<p>My kid submitted the WashU application on the due date, RD, and was accepted, because it had been worked on, fine-tuned and perfected.</p>
<p>I would start working on the essays now and put them aside until later in the year, at which point you’ll submit the common app and WashU supp. However, I would submit WashU’s pre-application data sheet now, as that requires no essays, asking just for basic information about you so that they can open a file on you. That will allow you to express interest now, without much effort on your part.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to visit and ask questions. My daughter who was accepted visited twice. First the general info session and second to take a couple of classes. You might want to consider early decision too because nothing indicates more of an interest I would think.</p>
<p>I would very much like to visit and I hope to do so over the summer. I just discovered their PNP program and I think it just solidified the fact that it is my top choice. Granted, I’ve never been there before, but from what I’ve seen online it looks fantastic. Hopefully I can get to St. Louis for a visit soon</p>
<p>i want to fill the data sheet out asap but I think I’ll wait to visit the school because I don’t want to select Early Decision and then visit and I don’t love the school as much as I think I will. Or does it matter what I fill out on the data sheet (RD or ED) because I can change it later?</p>