<p>I know the deadlines are in January 1st, but I don't think it's safe to submit on December 31st. In other words, when's the latest date to submit the applications without fearing that the applications might not be received before the deadline?</p>
<p>Bump 10^char</p>
<p>You should submit a few days before the deadline. That should give you plenty of margin.</p>
<p>If an app is due on Dec 1st, you can submit at 11:59:59 PM on the 1st. Of course, that’s not advisable, since something could go wrong. But you don’t need any margin and colleges won’t expect you to act as if you did. If you look back at your apps submitted Dec 1st later and it says they were processed Dec 2nd, that’s fine too. </p>
<p>When my apps were due on Nov 1st, I submitted them all by 10 PM that day. I had all but one of them finished a week or so before that, but I liked having the feeling that I could change it.</p>
<p>Now, there are SOME schools that review applications in the order they arrive, so submitting earlier is an advantage. But most don’t, so for most schools you can submit any time before the day after the deadline.</p>
<p>Do top schools (Ivies) review applications in the order they arrive? Can we get a list of schools that do that?</p>