College Admission Tips and Important Dates

Danielle’s College Admissions Tips and Important Dates

Early Action/Early Decision?

Early Decision is most often a binding decision…you must attend that school if you were admitted. Early action means you can apply to other schools. (Watch out for “restricted early action” schools!).  Early decision schools often need a parent and school counselor signature sent in by the due date…Due dates for EA/ED are most often Nov 1st, Nov 15th, or Dec 1st and you can usually hear back in a month.

When are applications due?

The University of California (UC) and California State school system (CSU) will always have their application due date be November 30th no matter what day of the week it falls on that year. This is the earliest date you’ll find besides the early action/early decision route.

Upcoming Application deadlines:

• Stanford’s regular admission app due date is due Dec 15th…you can send online or paper…they accept either. Notice directions on Part 1, payment, etc.
• Most Ivy League schools are due Jan 1st. Others like Boston University, Boston College, Vassar, Tufts, the Claremont McKenna schools, and Duke are due Jan 1-Jan 2nd
• After the Jan 1-2nd due date, the next round would be Jan 10th due dates like USC (University of Southern Cal).  Look into applying early to USC as they have an early scholarship date.
• Then many on the common app are due Jan 15th.
• Check for schools like U of Michigan and LMU which accept applications on a “rolling” basis.  Send those in early!
• Always look on the school WEBSITE to confirm due dates (they often change every year!)…Sometimes the common app and the US News and World Report may be off by a day…Better to be safe than sorry!!!

Upcoming SAT/ACT dates:

(I’ve added the sign up dates…they all have late sign up dates too, and if you miss that, then you can go standby)
Sign up on www.actstudent.org and www.collegeboard.com for the 2 tests.

• Sept 15, 2007 ACT (sign up by Aug 16)
• Oct 6, 2007 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by Sept 10)
• Oct 27, 2007 ACT (sign up by Sept 21)
• Nov 3, 2007 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by Oct 2)
• Dec 1, 2007 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by Oct 30)
• Dec 8, 2007 ACT (sign up by Nov 2)
• Jan 26, 2008 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by 12/26/07)
• Feb 9, 2008 ACT (sign up by 1/4/08)
• March 1, 2008 SAT ONLY (sign up by 1/29/08)
• April 12, 2008 ACT (sign up by 3/7/08)
• May 3, 2008 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by 4/1/08)
• June 7, 2008 SAT/Subject Tests (sign up by 5/6/08)
• June 14, 2008 ACT (sign up by 5/9/08)

Want to send supplementary materials with your application?

Some schools welcome it; others state frankly that they will not look at anything beyond the app. Some schools like U Penn have a separate question dedicated to those who want to send in supp materials. Other schools say if you’re sending in something like art, then send to that specific dept. Sports videos—send to the athletic dept. While other schools may say, we look at it if it fits in 8.5x 11” folder (i.e. if you have artwork, make it into slides, and place into a plastic slide sheet). You need to remember to put your name and social security # on any/all supp materials, and expect to not see the materials again…unless you give a stamped and self addresses envelope to send it back.

Auditioning?

Most schools post their sign ups in Dec-Jan and auditions run in Jan-Feb. Some schools want you to fly to LA, SF or NY…others offer multiple locations where you can go which may be closer to you.

Do you need an interview?

Some schools offer interviews on campus only. Some schools send reps to locations near you. Look on their websites to find out. For instance:
Duke—sets up interviews after you send your Part 1 in on Dec 1st
Stanford, Boston College, Cornell, Colgate—no interviews
Vassar—request an interview by Dec 15th on your Part 1
U Penn, Brown, Princeton—They contact you after you apply
Claremont McKenna, Pomona– you need to contact them by a certain date

Should I visit the campus?

Personally I feel yes. I think any school likes when you visit. It flatters them and it really shows you’re interested.

As I have said before, I think you should visit colleges/universities near you just to get a general feel of different campuses…small Catholic schools, large public universities, small specialized schools (like in the arts). Visit ones near a big city or out in a more rural area if one is close by.