APPLICATION DEADLINES AND RELATED TERMS

It is critical that you know the application deadlines for the schools to which you are applying.  To apply late usually elicits the same response as not applying at all.  Below are some important terms used in the application and admission process by most colleges and universities. It is important that you understand them and the differences between them.

Application Deadline :  In the application literature for each college you will find a date by which all application materials are due.  In some cases, the date will be a postmark date, and in others it will be a date by which all materials must be received.  If this is not specified, you should assume that all materials must be received by the date indicated.
 
Candidate (or Applicant) Notification Date :  This is the date by which you will receive a decision, or the date by which the decisions will be mailed from the school.  Notification dates for the more competitive schools are usually in late March and early April.  Most colleges will not provide acceptance information by phone.  Be patient!

Rolling Admissions :  Some schools will review your application as soon as all supporting materials have been received.  You will usually receive your decision within three to six weeks of the receipt of your application materials by the admission office.  When a school has a Rolling Admission policy, there may not be a set application deadline ; rather, applications are usually accepted within a certain time period (October through March, for example) as long as there are spaces in the freshman class.  At some of the more selective colleges with rolling admissions (for example, public universities in the Midwest), it is advisable that you apply by December or January of your senior year.  At some institutions with rolling admissions, Honors Programs and/or scholarship competitions may have earlier deadlines (the University of Maryland is an example).

Candidate's Reply Date :  The date of May 1 has been accepted by most colleges and universities in the United States as the date by which all admitted students must inform the school they are planning on attending of their intention to enroll.  A non-refundable deposit is usually due by this date.  Submitting your reply or deposit after May 1 will jeopardize your acceptance and place in the freshman class.  In addition to notifying the school you will attend of your intentions, you are also obligated to notify all other schools to which you have been accepted of your plans not to attend.  Sending a deposit to more than one college is not ethical and will jeopardize your acceptances at each of the schools involved. 

The application process for the U.S. Military Academies begins in the spring of your junior year.  The application process for the academies is a two-tiered process:  you apply to the academies in which you are interested and at the same time apply for the required nominations from Members of Congress or other officials.

APPLYING EARLY

Many students like the idea of applying to colleges early, having the process completed by Christmas vacation, and relaxing during the second semester.  Below is an explanation of some of the terms used to describe the various ways of applying early:

Early Admission :  Some colleges and universities accept students before they have finished high school, usually at the end of the student's junior year.  Admission is rare under this plan, and it is only appropriate for the student who has taken an accelerated high school academic program, has an exemplary high school record, and who is mature enough to make the early move to college. 

Early Decision :  Several schools offer an admission plan for those students who are certain of their college choice during the first semester of their senior year.  Application deadlines for early decision plans are usually in November and December.  A student who applies to a school under an early decision plan must sign a contract (as do his parents) which states that the student will attend that school if accepted.  He also states that he will withdraw any and all other applications submitted to other schools and that he will not submit any others.  Applying to a school early decision is a serious and binding commitment. 

Students applying early are reviewed primarily on the basis of their performance through junior year, so the early decision option is usually advisable only for students with very good academic records.  Responses for early decision applicants are usually received before Christmas of the senior year, and they may be acceptance, denial or deferral to the regular spring applicant pool.  A student may apply to only one school as an early decision candidate, and he should be sure that that is the school he would like to attend. 
Early Action :  This is a decision plan similar to that described above, but the important difference is that your acceptance is not binding.  Most early action deadlines are in November and December, and you will usually receive a decision before Christmas break.  You will have until the May 1 Candidate's Reply Date, however, to decide whether or not you will attend that school. You may still apply to other schools even if accepted under this plan.  Decisions under this plan are made primarily on the basis of your performance through junior year. It is usually more difficult to get accepted under an early action plan than it is through the regular admission process in the spring.