College Admissions: When to Apply

One of the fundamental tips to remember when filling out college applications is that it is of crucial importance that you start early. There really is no such thing as starting early and the benefits are enough of a reward.

Something to consider with application deadlines is what the deadline is for. There are some schools that have numerous deadlines. Here is a quick breakdown of the types of deadlines to consider when applying for colleges. Keep in mind that these are strictly related to college admission--no financial concerns will be addressed until a future video/blog post.

Application
The most important deadline to consider and the one that you are 100% responsible for. Were it not for the main admissions application, the school would give you no thought. That being said, there are three possible dates for deadlines. These are all lumped into one of the following: regular (the most common), early action, and early decision. Regular deadline means that there is no commitment from either party, early action indicates to the college that you are serious about their school but have no binding contract, and finally early decision is the binding contract--if you are accepted to a school that you applied early decision for, you must attend.

Here's what I recommend when it comes to these deadlines: if there is a possibility of applying early action and it's a university you are seriously contemplating--then do so. Otherwise stick to the regular deadline, but keep in mind that you must send the application much sooner than the week before. The only occasions when I would apply early decision would be in instances where I was sure that particular school was my dream school. Not to mention that I'd find a way to pay for it, no if's and's or but's.

Letters of Recommendation
A video concerning this topic will be up within a week, but here's just a tidbit of information when it comes to deadlines and letters of recommendation. When it comes to the exact arrival of these references, the colleges tend to be a bit more lenient if they are a day or two late simply because they account for the teacher's busy lives. Keep in mind that the leniency doesn't apply to letters that are weeks late, but that--of course--was a given.

One final point: there are some teachers that will give you the task of sending out the sealed letters yourself. In such cases, it is best to send it out as soon as possible via certified mail. That little tidbit is useful: any documents that are time sensitive and being sent to colleges should have this bit of a security measure. If you aren't in charge of mailing it out, then be sure to keep tabs on the teacher in a polite but firm manner.

Test Scores and Transcripts
Part of the reason why the college application time is so hectic has to do with the fact that test scores are an essential component. Something that often helps boost college applications is a stellar SAT/ACT score and such a score sometimes may only come about when

It's always best to have all of your testing done and scored before the first of many deadlines. Only take the tests after the application deadline if your college will accept test scores afterwards and if you are sure that the retesting will be worth it. This last-resort test is meant for retakes--not first times! For goodness sakes, don't let it be your first time!

That's all that I have to say on the subject. As usual, if there are certain things that I missed, be sure to ask in whatever means you think appropriate.