Submitted Your Early Application(s)? Don’t Blow It Now

It’s November and by now, one or more (applicable to non-binding programs) early admission applications have been submitted, right?. As you may be aware, many of the universities and colleges your children are considering have inflexible November deadlines. Of course, there are some exceptions and we encourage you to carefully check the admissions websites of the institutions you are considering for the most updated Early Action, Restricted or Single Choice Early Action and Early Decision application deadlines and their respective decision release dates.

If you have already submitted an early application, you may be wondering what should you be doing now? Well, we have you covered! You will find a list of steps to follow below.

1. Celebrate today, buckle down tomorrow

• Much work goes into preparing a strong early college application so it is understandable to want to celebrate after submitting one. Limit celebration time to approximately one day, however, and redirect focus towards other applications with later deadlines.

  ---

2.  Follow up with recommenders & other stakeholders

• Follow up with the selected recommenders and confirm that they have written and sent in their letters of recommendations. Confirm that the transcript and other required materials were submitted by your high school.
• While a college or university’s admissions office will not penalize the student for not having materials that are meant to be submitted by others in by the deadline, it can delay the reading of your application. We do not want that to happen.

  ---

3. Focus on the high school transcript

• Maintain a strong academic performance OR improve upon an academic performance first term senior year. If admitted, college admissions offices will often require to see the first semester/trimester/quarter grades and will expect to see sustained academic excellence or a compelling upward trajectory in academic performance.
• Sustain the rigor of your listed course load upon early application submission. If you have an extenuating circumstance that may force you to drop a course (or more), please consult with your college admissions office prior to taking any action.

  ---

4. Apply to other colleges

• Complete and submit Regular Decision applications for other institutions. This way, you will have a backup plan if you are not offered admission or are “deferred” by the institution to which you applied early.

By following the above steps, you’ll position yourself to be on track for the last months of the college application process.

Need help? Let our expert advice help you and your child to manage, execute and WIN the college application process.

Call us or email us for a free 15-minute initial consultation call.

[email protected], 917-727-1055