College applications are what you work on over Winter Break of senior year, right? After all, that was the way it was when I applied to college. Nope. That’s not the case anymore. Parents, if you thought you heard wrong when your child’s friend said they were working on their college essay in June, you did not. College applications are no longer a Winter Break activity.
Why? Well, for a few reasons, not the least of which is that nearly every college now offers students an Early Action (EA) or Priority deadline. (Some also offer something called an Early Decision deadline, which is another thing altogether. Read my Nov. 2019 blog to learn the difference between Early Action and Early Decision). EA and Priority deadlines typically land between October 15 and November 15, and most occur smack in the middle on November 1. Colleges entice students to apply early by promising they will hear back from the institution at least a month or two earlier than they would if they were to apply by the Regular Decision deadline. And, when you’re a high school senior anxiously awaiting college decisions, a month can feel like a very long time
Are there other advantages to applying early? In some cases, yes. Though colleges routinely say that applying by the Early Action deadline versus the Regular Decision deadline has no bearing on your chances of admission (again, please note that I said Early Action, not Early Decision), logic would tell you otherwise: the more students who are accepted early, the less spots there are for those who aren’t. Furthermore, some schools, like University of North Carolina and University of Georgia, require an early application for students to be considered for their top scholarships. And competitive schools with rolling decisions, such as Texas A&M, are upfront about the fact that the earlier you apply, the greater chance you have of being admitted.
But I believe that the largest benefit of applying early is getting applications behind you and being able to live in the moment and enjoy your senior year. Are any seniors reading this? If so, you still have two weeks to get most of those applications in early and move on with your life. Ready. Set. Go!
