<p>The earliest application deadline of all the schools I'm applying to is December 31, 2007, and I'm planning on submitting all apps by mid-December.</p>
<p>I've heard suggestions about how you should submit your apps at least two weeks before the deadline and then call the admissions office after a week or so to check that all your materials have arrived.</p>
<p>Can anyone confirm this? Is a two-week margin a safe bet? Also, is it customary to call the admissions office, or would that be overkill? (I'm doing everything online, if that makes a difference.)</p>
<p>Well, most college admissions offices[ like the colleges themselves], will be closed during the Xmas/ winter break, so you would not be able to reach anyone in the admissions offices the last 2 weeks of Dec. The admissions offices of colleges that have late Dec deadlines are inundated in the beginning of January with thousands of pieces of mail- teacher recommendations, transcripts, etc. that must be placed in the correct files, so calling before the middle of January probably won't get you the answers you want, because it's too soon. Check the admissions websites of the colleges you are applying to, to see if they post online which, if any documents are still missing. Many colleges have gone to this method.</p>