College Planning Guide

Admission Plans

1. Regular. The application deadline is one of the common deadlines nationally -- January 1, January 15, February 1, February 15, or March 1. Each college has an established reply date, usually between March 15 and April 1, when they will let you know of their admission decision. April 1 is the typical reply date for the nation's most competitive colleges. A student then has from the reply date until May 1 to make a final decision about which college to attend.
   
   
2. Early Action. The application deadline is typically November 1 or 15, and it is permissible to submit early-action applications to several colleges simultaneously (unless the school is Early Action/Single Choice – see #3 below). The typical reply date is December 15. Accepted students have until May 1 to enroll, or they may accept the offer immediately. Deferred students will be reconsidered under the Regular Decision Plan (the typical acceptance rate of deferred candidates in the spring is about 10%). Rejected students will not be reconsidered.
   
   
3. Early Action Single Choice – This is non-binding, but the college or university limits you to having this as your only “Early” application. In other words, you may apply regular decision to any other college, but you may not apply early decision or early action to any other university.
   
   
4. Early Decision. The application deadline is typically November 1 or 15, and only one early-decision application is permissible, and only one official transcript can be sent from the Guidance Office in support of an early-decision application. The college reply date is most often December 15. The student must accept the offer of admission and withdraw any other applications that may have been filed. Students who are denied admission are either deferred for later consideration with the spring pool of applicants or denied admission.
   
   
5. Early Decision II. Several colleges have more than one early decision plan. Due dates usually range from January 1 to February 1, with replies promised on a date that is earlier than the college's Regular Decision reply date. These plans are "officially" directed at students who are described as not ready to commit to a particular college as early as November but who are now clearer about their plans. In reality, these are often students whose Early Action or Early Decision applications resulted in deferrals or rejections.
   
   
6. Early Notification. Early Notification plans vary from institution to institution, but the typical due date is November 1 or 15. Replay dates range from December 15 to February 1. Students are either accepted or deferred. Students have until May 1 to reply. Some students participate in several early notification plans simultaneously, and as is the case with early action plans, this is permissible.
   
   
7. Rolling Admission. Colleges with rolling admissions process applications as they arrive. How much time they take to process an application, and how early in the year they inform students of decisions, varies from college to college. Clearly admissible students often get admission offers as early as October or November. Other colleges prefer not to begin rolling decisions until December or January. Students who are not clearly admissible--but who are also not clearly deniable compared to the applicants received by the college to date--will be put "on hold" until it becomes clearer to the college what the quantity and quality of the year's applicant pool is going to be.

** Note : Please consult with your college advisor before deciding upon an application plan. While the trend of Early Decision applications has risen over the past several years, there are some instances in which it is not advantageous to apply under an “early” plan.