“Early” College App Deadlines Rapidly Approaching

What greater holiday gift is there for a college bound student than to receive a fat acceptance letter, or a congratulatory email, from a college of choice? But in order to have a chance of getting such good news by the holidays, students typically need to submit their college applications by the “early” deadline of November 1st or, in some cases, November 15th.

Students can apply to as many colleges “early action” as they like and, if accepted, they are not required to attend.  This differs from an “early decision” application which can only be submitted to one college and binds the student to attend, if accepted.

Aside from the obvious emotional advantage of hearing back from colleges earlier, there is another key advantage to filing early applications.  Colleges are well aware that many students apply to eight or more colleges. It’s somewhat of a guessing game for college admissions officers to try to figure out which students, if accepted, would actually attend.  So many colleges, including some of the most competitive institutions, accept a substantially higher percentage of their early decision candidates knowing they will definitely enroll.  To a lesser extent, colleges also tend to favor early action students who have demonstrated a strong interest in their school.   

According to admissions data for students who entered college last fall, many colleges popular with New Jersey students reported a much higher early action acceptance rate than overall acceptance rate.

Fordham University reported a 54% early action acceptance rate to a 39% overall acceptance rate.  The University of Miami cited a ratio of 44% to 21%, Notre Dame’s ratio is 30% to 14%, Ohio State University is 65% to 31%, and Dickinson College is 58% to 36%. 

As for early decision applicants, who are ready to commit to one particular college, there are many top institutions that greatly increase the odds of acceptance.  The percentages of students accepted early decision, in comparison to regular decision, at some popular schools are: Lehigh University 60% to 19%, Lafayette College 52% to 27%, Bucknell University 56% to 31%, Johns Hopkins University 30% to 9%, New York University (NYU) 35% to 18%, Northeastern University 41% to 19%, American University 81% to 29%, George Washington University 70% to 40%, and The College of New Jersey 60% to 49%. 

College applications are one category where procrastination does not pay off!

Susan Alaimo is the founder of SAT Smart. For the past 25 years, SAT Smart’s Ivy League educated tutors have prepared students for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, AP courses, and all high school subjects. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.