Interesting. I wonder how well that works with procrastinators.
The quote is from Penn State admissions, I thought most colleges tacked all apps at once, not as they came in. But who knows?
This makes sense. Never heard this before.
“I thought most colleges tacked all apps at once, not as they came in.”
My understanding has always been that once they got past ED/EA rounds, they start working immediately on RD applications. They aren’t waiting around for deadlines but will start tackling those applications that are in and complete.
It’s a good article. Thanks for posting, @bopper.
"“As an admissions officer, when that deadline comes around, I see a huge spike in applications. That’s when the procrastinators send them in. It’s advantageous to get ahead of the bubble. Think about it strategically: there are thousands of applications and essays to get through. If you get yours in early, the reader may be more relaxed and in a better mood at that point in the process.”
same thing when I review resumes… when I read the first 5-10 resumes I am on point…number 65-70-75 in a row not so much.
and I doubt they wait.(every school maybe different but I bet most just process apps as they come in and late apps show procrastination or using the school as a plan b or c…and either reason hurts your chances)
My kids had to apply EA where they could - they are not incentivized enough by money to have had applications done by Labor Day. And around here - school hasn’t even started yet. They didn’t have final lists at that point either. Each got accepted to one school that had an early application which made the whole process a lot less fraught.
I made my son finish his apps before senior year began. He just had a lot going on in the fall and I wanted it taken care of when he was fresh and not stressed out.
Someone told me that even another month or two of maturity means a lot in that year and makes for better essays. I did see a lot of growing up for him in September - November that might have made for a better essay. I can see both sides to that now.
I think this is a total false dichotomy. Even at a gigantic place you are unlikely to actually talk to five new people a day and you can make friends for life anywhere.
Early is good. Our high school really pushed the kids to get it done before the end of October. It is invaluable for UofM, great for the parents plus it gets the kids off the hook so they can focus on senior year and enjoying senior year. Do the research, make your list, get it done. The kids that are shooting for academically challenging colleges generally have academically challenging senior years so all the more reason to do the research, make the list and get the applications in. By December the GCs are prodding the rest of the bunch to make decisions and have more time for the academic achievers early in the fall also. All my kids felt great relief after they had pushed submit and knew that portion was behind them. I can’t imagine admissions “waits”. I also doubt they have increased their office staff exponentially to cover all these apps that kids are sending in these days so yes, I’d rather see kids get them in early when they are fresh back at school after summer and admissions is “fresh” and not worn down from looking at the same stuff over and over and over one after another. Procrastinators are procrastinators…there will always be procrastinators and they will procrastinate in college and probably procrastinate on the job. They will land where they land.
I don’t understand how kids could realisticaly have their apps in before Labor Day… In my son’s school they had a bootcamp in late Sept/early Oct where the students spoke with and gave their resumes to the teachers they wanted for recommendations. They were asked to choose up to 5 and then when the recommendation letters came in the GC chose which ones she thought were the best/ most appropriate and submitted them…
To do this in the summer would mean you would see your letter of recommendation which most colleges frown upon…
^ that’s an interesting system, where by 3 of the 5 recs are not used? Seems like a lot of work on the part of the teachers. @runswimyoga
My son saw one of his recommendations because the teacher showed it to him. He waived his right to see it, but teachers are allowed to share if they want to. From what he told me it couldn’t have been better. (And I had serious doubts since he’d gotten a B+ in the class, but he loved the teacher.)
@OHMomof2 Most kids only choose 2 or 3, but they are allowed to choose up to 5. They use the recs for scholarships too …Apparently some schools want 2 core teachers and perhaps 1 fine arts or language for a scholarship application
The GC also recommends that they do something nice for the teachers they choose (such as flowers/a small gift card/food) to show appreciation… we gave a $10 wawa gift card … luckily my son only chose 3
It’s a great article, far more laid back than the ways so many tackle admissions. I kept wanting to hit a like button.
I’d be worried about an GC filtering letters, except at a hot BS where they know their stuff. It assumes the average GC knows just how adcoms read LoRs.
Labor Day wouldn’t have worked when mine were seniors. The GC seriously believed in the growth between September and December. But she insisted the kids have LoR writers lined up by early-mid Oct, for RD. She was very good about making kids aware of how to choose who would write.
Wow, that’s late. A lot of pressure on the teachers. In my children’s high school, they are strongly encouraged to ask for the recommendations at the end of junior year.
Our school encourages letters of rec requested in the spring and written over the summer. Our teachers are all working pretty hard during the school year. Yes, our kids see the letters and no, the colleges do not seem to mind- even allowing them to be uploaded by the students in the portals for non- common app schools.
A few years ago, our High School paid for a former Admissions Director to come in and give the parents the behind the scenes of the college admissions process. To sum it up, if you want any merit aid, apply early, while the school may have rolling admissions, once the budgeted merit aid is given out, that’s it. Also, on the essays, if your kid isn’t an athlete or concert pianist, they better have done something to distinguish themselves. I found out the hard way that there are a lot of Honors students applying, and the top 5% get most of the money,being in the top 6% doesn’t get you more than a few thousand in merit aid.
My son asked his teachers to write his recommendations for him in the Spring of his Junior year. One had it done in September and the second in early November. You have to be careful with the timing of the teacher’s submitting them on the common app. I know one of his EA schools only wanted one Teacher recommendation. They take which ever one is submitted first. He had to request that the second teacher wait to submit as he thought that recommendation would be better for him. I had no idea that kids could see the letters. Interesting.
I think it makes sense for students to get their essays done before the start of senior year, but at our school neither the teachers nor the counselors are required to work over the summer. The GCs aren’t in the office, and don’t answer the phone or e-mails. The head of counseling will respond for an emergency, but no routine work is being done. So I am having a hard time understanding how your kids can totally complete their applications in August. Are they private schools? Our public school has certain strict timelines for everything, and sometimes these timelines even specify that they will not receive requests before a certain date.
With my second child, I made her have a first draft of her essay before school started and had a list of all her ECs…I think those are the big hurdles for common app and it was easy for her to finish up the app while in the midst of a very busy senior fall.