Everything You Need to Know About Applying Early to College

Danielle Bianchi Golod Everything You Need to Know About Applying Early to College A guide for students and parents For the Personal Statement Blueprint 2010-2011

Foreward This Guide is meant to help students and their parents better understand the confusing lingo of the college admissions offices, what the different application options are, who they may help, and why. While I have made every effort to include all of the pertinent information regarding early admission options, please note that you need to verify that you are following the correct procedures at all schools to which you apply. How to Use This Guide The beginning of the guide contains a glossary where you will find the most common early application options and their definitions. (Please note these are for the 2010-2011 application season they never seem to stop changing). Each term is then explained in more detail in a later section. I then focus on how this option may be important to you and why. If there are popular schools that use a particular option, I may focus on the nuances of their approach as just about every school s admissions office has its own way of doing things which is why you need to check and verify that you are following the correct procedure at each and every college that will receive an application from you. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 1

Contents Foreward... 1 How to Use This Guide... 1 Glossary... 4 Regular Admission / Regular Decision (RD):... 4 Early Action (EA):... 4 Restrictive/ Restricted/Single Choice Early Action (REA):... 4 Early Decision (ED):... 4 Rolling Decision:... 5 Pooling Admission Process:... 5 Regular Admission Process... 6 What Does It Mean?... 6 Why is it important to you?... 6 Early Action... 8 What Does It Mean?... 8 Why is it important to you?... 8 Restrictive Early Action... 10 What Does It Mean?... 10 Why is it important to you?... 10 Yale:... 11 Stanford:... 11 Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 2

Boston College:... 11 Early Decision:... 12 What Does It Mean?... 12 Why is it important to you?... 12 Rolling Admission... 13 What Does It Mean?... 13 Why is it important to you?... 13 Pooling Admission Process... 14 What Does It Mean?... 14 Why is it important to you?... 14 Supplements? Early Supplements?... 15 What does it mean?... 15 Why is it important to you?... 15 Some Earlier Applications to Consider... 17 About the Author... 18 Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 3

Glossary Regular Admission / Regular Decision (RD): Every college/university in the United States has a regular admission due date by which the application must be submitted. The most common due date is January 1 st, but may be different. Early Action (EA): Students can submit applications at an earlier date, and if accepted for Early Action (EA), the decision they make (should they decide to accept) is nonbinding. To make things more confusing, some schools offer two Early Action deadline dates. For most schools, the Early Action (EA) deadline is November 1 st or 15 th. Restrictive/ Restricted/Single Choice Early Action (REA): Allows students to apply to only one early action school (Boston College is an exception) and prohibits applying to any school via early decision. Deadlines are usually November 1 st or 15 th. Please refer to Yale, Stanford, & Boston College on the following page. REA affords the student the ability to review financial aid packages offered at other institutions. Early Decision (ED): Is a binding commitment to enroll in the college/university. If accepted, the student must attend and withdraw any other applications that are outstanding. There are many restrictions involved with Early Decision including a binding contract, non-refundable fees, and other paperwork. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 4

Early Decision I & II refer to different due dates for Early Decision. The 1 st usually refers to a November 1 st or 15 th deadline and the latter refers to the regular admission application deadline. These plans are made available so students can explore financial aid options. Rolling Decision: Is a first-come-first-served type of process; students can apply after the open date up until the regular admission application deadline. Decisions are generally made within 30 to 45 days of receipt of the application. Pooling Admission Process: Describes a process some larger public universities use to attract early applications. While these schools accept applications earlier than most, the decisions are made after the regular admission application deadline has passed. In other words, there is no real benefit to the student other than crossing one off the list. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 5

Regular Admission Process What Does It Mean? Every school in the US has a standard application due date. Admission applications must be submitted prior to this date. You will need to fill out the online application and supplements by (the most common due date) January 1 st. Colleges require the application and supplement(s), the application fee, the teacher recommendations, the counselor recommendations and transcripts, and any extra recommendations to be submitted by this date. Why is it important to you? If you don t have your heart set on a particular school and you need time to research other colleges/universities then applying under regular admission is likely for you. Is Your GPA on the rise? If you seem to have an upward trend in your grades continuing through the 1 st semester of your senior year, then applying under the regular admission date is best. Most colleges are likely to review 7 semesters of grades (instead of 6 through junior year which happens with early admission plans). Do you need to take Fall SAT/ACT/Subject Tests? If you plan to take the November, December, and/or January standardized tests during your senior year, then applying under regular admission is best. Currently, students can take as many SAT s or ACT s as they want and choose which scores they would like sent to their schools. Early Action/Early Decision schools will usually only accept test scores through the October test Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 6

dates. If you realize a little late in the game that you need subject tests for a certain school on your list then apply regular admission and give yourself the extra time to take a couple more tests. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 7

Early Action What Does It Mean? All schools have the regular admission date, but many schools (public and private) also offer you the chance to apply early to their school. Why is it important to you? There are many benefits to applying early action it s non-binding (you don t have to go if you get in), and you can apply early to many schools simultaneously. The early action process may be a great option for you if: a. You ve finished your standardized testing by Oct (EA rule for most colleges) b. You don t feel your GPA is steadily increasing (end of junior year and 1 st semester of senior year). In the Early Action option, the college will only see your grades through junior year. c. You re an athlete or have a talent that you think schools would like to see. (Please note, most competitive athletes, musicians, artists, etc. apply early to schools, so you may be competing against a more challenging group of students by applying early action). d. You d like to know early whether or not you got accepted. Colleges that give you the option to apply early will usually get back to you in 30-45 days after the early action due date (i.e. if your early action due date is Nov 1st, many schools will give their response on Dec 1 st or Dec 15 th ). Some early notification Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 8

schools like U of Oregon and CU-Boulder will accept applications far before the app due date and respond within 30-60 days. Note: Harvard, Princeton, UVA, & Wake Forest dropped early admission processes. Some examples of schools with EA plans: Fordham, MIT, Cal Tech, U Chicago, Georgetown, Villanova, Notre Dame, U Michigan, Loyola Marymount U, U of San Diego. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 9

Restrictive Early Action What Does It Mean? Restrictive Early Action is a non-binding admission option for students who believe that one school is their first choice school. Think of it as Yale calls it, a single choice early action school. The main benefit to the REA plan is that you hear back within 30-45 days, yet don t have to make a decision until May 1 st. This way you can explore your financial aid packages from other institutions. Why is it important to you? You should only apply REA if you KNOW that school is your 1 st choice. Candidates are evaluated on their high school record through their junior year. ACT/SAT results through the October test dates are considered for REA. Yale & Stanford recently switched from early decision to Restrictive Early Action. Boston College uses REA with a little more leniency than the other 2. Rules for Admission Decisions under REA plans: 1. Applicant is admitted and has until May 1 st to respond 2. Applicant is denied and cannot reapply for regular decision admission until the following year 3. Applicant is deferred to Regular Decision, and will receive a final decision by April 1 st. Description of 3 of the big schools with REA plans: Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 10

Yale: Yale calls their REA plan Single Choice Early Action and will give the applicant a response by mid-dec. Candidates who are admitted early may apply to other schools for Regular Decision. Yale will not allow the candidate to apply simultaneously for Early Action/Early Decision plans at any other school. Applying under Yale s Single Choice Early Action, you will be asked to sign a contract. Stanford: REA at Stanford is a non-binding admission option for students who know Stanford is their first choice. Students will hear back by Dec 15 th. At Stanford, applicants agree not to apply to any other school under EA, REA, ED or Early Notification (other than public universities, rolling admissions, and foreign universities). Boston College: A non-binding admission option for students. Response comes no later than Dec 25th. Decisions will be mailed (not given by phone/email). Unlike Yale & Stanford, students CAN apply to other early action schools just not early decision. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 11

Early Decision: What Does It Mean? Early Decision (ED) is a binding commitment to enroll at a college/university. If accepted, the applicant must attend and withdraw any other applications. Many schools offer Early Decision I & II dates. Why is it important to you? Your chances of getting accepted under Early Decision are statistically better than applying under regular decision, however, you must KNOW that school is your one and only choice of school. Some examples of Early Decision schools: Columbia, U Penn, Tufts, Syracuse, Pitzer College, Boston U, Brown Examples of schools with Early Decision I & II: Colby, Conn College, Lehigh, NYU, Vanderbilt, Claremont McKenna, St. Lawrence U, Skidmore Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 12

Rolling Admission What Does It Mean? Students can apply to a school with a rolling admission plan right after the open date and up until the application final deadline. Why is it important to you? While some students find this process the least intimidating because they can have months to get an application finished, it is wiser to get your application in on the earlier side. Decisions are generally made and communicated as applications are received and assessed. Apply early because you ll hear back in about a month AND because it s run more on a first come first served basis. Universities encourage their applicants to apply early as some schools/departments with the university may close well before the deadline. Examples: U of Arizona (final due date May 1 st ), Oregon State U (final due date Feb 1 st ) Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 13

Pooling Admission Process What Does It Mean? Similar to Rolling Admission in that you can apply after the open date, however, decisions are not made quickly. Admission decisions are not made until ALL applications have been received and assessed. Why is it important to you? There are no real benefits except for getting your application in early and checking a box off your to-do list. The University of Washington is an example of a school with a pooling admission process. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 14

Supplements? Early Supplements? What does it mean? Some colleges (especially those on the Common Application) require an extra form or supplement to be submitted along with the application. Most supplements need to be submitted by the application deadline, but many art and athletic supplements need to be submitted at an earlier due date. Each school has a different supplement system. If you re applying to a handful of schools using the Common Application, then go to the Applications and Requirements page for a full description of each school s supplements. Why is it important to you? There are 3 types of supplements which may pertain to you. The School-Related Supplement: These are required documents expected of each applicant. They are forms that ask for your personal information and usually have 1 short essay about why you want to attend that school and what major you plan to pursue (see Supplemental Essay Blueprint, part of the Personal Statement Blueprint http://www.personalstatementblueprint.com/). Art Supplement: This is an optional supplement. You may submit an art supplement if you ve made a substantial commitment of time and energy to one or more of the arts and you wish to have that considered as part of your application. (www.commonapp.org) The art supplement pertains to music, theater, dance, film, and visual arts. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 15

Some Earlier Applications to Consider a. University of Arizona SALT Program i. If you have a learning disability/difference and wish to apply to U of Arizona s SALT program, they start taking applications on August 1 st before your senior year starts. Get your SALT & U of Arizona applications in early. b. The University of California system i. The UC application is ALWAYS due by 11/30. They accept applications online from Nov 1-Nov 30. They will accept Oct, Nov, Dec & sometimes Jan SAT/ACT scores from your senior year. c. The California State University system i. The Cal State application is ALWAYS due by 11/30. They also will accept applications online from Nov 1-Nov 30 and will accept Oct, Nov, Dec & sometimes Jan SAT/ACT scores from your senior year. d. The University of North Carolina system is another large public university system due on the earlier side (Dec 1 st ). e. The University of Washington & The University of Georgia i. Both these schools have a Dec 15 th regular decision deadline. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 17

About the Author Danielle Bianchi Golod has been helping students and their families navigate the college admission process for over 10 years. In her own search, Danielle was admitted to top-tier schools such as Princeton and Duke Universities giving her firsthand knowledge of what it takes to succeed. While many people focus on a school s ranking, Danielle prides herself on finding the right fit for each of her students. Danielle currently resides with her family in beautiful Austin, TX. She has a limited number of one-on-one students who she works with each year. To learn more about Danielle, please visit her website at www.daniellebianchi.com or email her at danielle@daniellebianchi.com. Copyright 2010 Danielle Bianchi Golod www.daniellebianchi.com 18