The Admission Process

Once you have completed a good final search list, you will be prepared to move into the next phase of college planning— the admission process. You will need to request applications from all of the schools on your list or plan to apply online.

• Application Deadlines

  Each college or university to which you will apply has its own admission policies and procedures. Included in these are various deadlines, plans, or programs for admitting students. Make note of all of the deadlines and begin working on them accordingly—starting with the earliest deadline and tackling the simplest applications in each deadline category first.

  The instructions and deadlines set forth by the colleges in their application packets or with the online application are not suggestions. They are clear guidelines that you must follow carefully if you want to produce a quality application. Doing this will also require that you request transcripts and teacher recommendations in a timely manner, as well. The administrators and teachers at your high school, who will handle your application and the documents accompanying it, need sufficient time to do their part in helping you present an impressive application. Therefore, you should request these documents as early in the application process as possible to ensure that your application can be completed and mailed well in advance of the published application deadline.

  If you can apply online, start your application as soon as possible. Many colleges prefer that you use their online application; however, there will still be parts of the application (your transcript and letters of recommendation, for example) that will require paper documentation.

• Admission Plans

  Colleges and universities not only have application deadlines, but also use various plans to facilitate the admission of their next first year class. Note the admission plans below:

  • Rolling Admission
    In general, this procedure is used by less selective colleges, enabling these institutions to evaluate students for admission soon after their application files are completed. Since the admissions decisions can be made fairly quickly, students are usually notified within 2-4 weeks after all of their application data has been processed, unless there are questions about an applicant’s record. In such cases, you may be asked to submit additional data, such as first-semester-senior-year grades, before the decision can be made.

    Colleges with rolling admission have final application deadlines. However, if you are applying to such an institution, it is wise to complete your application early in the admission season since later applicants may find that spaces in the class for the coming year have all been filled by earlier applicants. This is particularly true at very popular or more selective state institutions.

  • Regular Admission
    This is the most common option among colleges and universities, with the majority of regular admission deadlines occurring between December 1 and March 15.

  • Early Notification
    This admission plan, also called Early Evaluation, is offered by some colleges that admit students under the regular admission plan. Because such schools usually notify students of their admission decisions in early to mid-spring, Early Notification is used to let you know the preliminary status of your application.

    While Early Notification is not a formal or final decision, it, at least, provides you—the applicant—with some indication of where you stand in the applicant pool and lets you know whether acceptance at that college is a real possibility.

  • Early Action
    Utilized by some Ivy League and other selective institutions, early action plans require that you apply to the college or university early in your senior year (usually between late October and late November). As an Early Action candidate, you will be notified of your acceptance, denial, or deferment by mid-December, in most cases. If you are admitted as an Early Action candidate, you are not obligated to commit to attend the institution at the time of notification. If you are deferred, your application will be reviewed again during the regular deadline season.

    It is important to note that, apart from demonstrating your interest in that particular college and giving you an idea of where you stand in the applicant pool, Early Action offers no great advantage in the admission process. In fact, the practice has become so controversial that a number of institutions have eliminated this plan as an admission option.

    Since early action candidates can be denied admission, it is advisable to limit your Early Action applications to schools in which you are extremely interested. During the Early Action round of admission, your application will be scrutinized as heavily as in the regular deadline season, but in an even more competitive pool of applicants. Therefore, conventional wisdom would suggest that you should apply for Early Action only if your application will demonstrate that you are an extremely impressive candidate for admission.

    Also, if you are seeking financial aid, you should be aware that most financial aid packages are awarded later in the application process. As a result, even if you are admitted in the Early Action round, the financial award you are offered later may not be sufficient for you to actually attend the institution.

  • Restrictive Early Action
    Some institutions have adopted Single-Choice Early Action policies that restrict applications from applying Early Action or Early Decision to any other college or university. If accepted under this plan, students have until May 1 to accept or turn down the offer of admission.

    Note: Though you may file more than one non-restrictive Early Action application, remember that college admission is not a game of chalking up “wins and losses”. This plan should never be used just to see if you can “get in” at an impressive number of colleges.

  • Early Decision
    If you decide to apply Early Decision, you must do so according to a deadline that is usually at least 6 weeks earlier than the regular deadline. The majority of Early Decision deadlines occur between mid-October and mid-November. Students are then notified of the institutions’ decisions by mid-to-late December. With admission under this plan, you must accept the offer at once. That means that you will need to withdraw all of your other applications to college.

    It is considered highly unethical to apply Early Decision to more than one college. In fact, since your counselor must sign the application, certifying support for your Early Decision application, high schools, generally, will not send an official transcript of your academic record to more than one college under this plan.

    You and your parents should talk seriously with your counselor about the wisdom of your applying Early Decision. If you are still searching or uncertain as to whether you really want to attend the Early Decision college, this plan is probably not a good option for you.

• Your Application File

  As mentioned in Your College Search, you learned that most colleges look for several attributes when reviewing applications. Your academic record (grades, course selection, test scores, awards, etc.), your activities (in and outside of school), your essay(s), your recommendations, and the subjective factors (special categories, demonstrated interest, etc.) will all be considered in the decision to admit or deny you for their next first-year class. Each of these factors will, therefore, need to be documented or supported by the various components of your application file.

  Most paper applications require that you submit information in at least two parts.
  Part 1 will ask for demographics—basic information about you and your family and other things that will identify you in the applicant pool. Part 2 will include your essays, your official transcript and test scores, your recommendations, your school’s profile, and any other information that the college requires in making its decision to admit you or deny you acceptance. Under most circumstance, you can submit Part 1 right away, as long as Part 2 is also received in the admissions office prior to the application deadline.

  • Your College Essay(s)

    Most selective colleges will require that you write and submit at least one essay as a part of your application for admission. The main purpose of the college essay is to provide those who review your application with a sense of who you are outside of your grades, test scores, activities, and the other more objective or standardized components of your application file. Therefore, admission officers and/or admission committees will read each of your essays carefully, looking at how you communicate in writing, as well as what the essay reveals about you—the unique individual—that supports the other parts of your application.

    While others (peers, parents, teachers, etc.) may proofread or offer critical advice about your essay, the actual writing must be your own work. Because admission officers are quite skilled at detecting which essays have been written by someone other than the applicant, you don’t want to take a chance on ruining your image as an applicant by submitting a bogus essay. Even if you are not the best writer in the world, your voice is very important in the admission process. Simply offer your best writing and be authentic. That will work to your advantage, in the final analysis.

    If your school offers workshops or advisory sessions on writing college essays, be sure to participate in them. You may also have the opportunity to delve into this topic in your junior or senior year English classes. Again, take advantage of such opportunities.

    In addition, you can practice writing college essays using topics found in old applications on file in your counselor’s office or your school’s College Resource Room. Ask your English teacher to take a look at your practice essays and your real ones and to offer suggestions on how you can improve your writing.

    You can also search the My College Options Article Archives or browse the Internet (Keyword: College Essay Tips) for information on writing quality college essays. Your school or local library and your local bookstores will have all sorts of books on the topic, as well.

  • Letters of Recommendation

    Most colleges and universities require a recommendation or endorsement from your high school as a part of your application. Many also ask for additional letters of recommendation from your teachers or coaches. Some ask for recommendations from teachers in specific subjects; others allow you to choose the teachers who recommend you.

    Counselor or School Recommendations

    The overall recommendation is usually written by your high school counselor. Since most colleges place serious value on the counselor recommendation, it is important for you to get to know your counselor. (See Article Archives for the newsletter on “Getting to Know Your Counselor”.)

    While many counselors write individual letters of recommendation for their students, most applications include a “Secondary School Report” or “Counselor’s Recommendation Form” that asks for information about your school and its curricula, grading system, etc., along with information about your graduating class, your class rank, your course selection, your activities, and other facts about your high school experience.

    Teacher Recommendations

    Choose, with great care, the teachers who will recommend you for admission. Their recommendations are extremely significant. Therefore, not only should they come from teachers who know you well, ideally, these teachers should also be among the ones who have taught you recently and, perhaps, in more than one course.

    Their recommendations provide support for other information found in your application and tell admissions officers more about you as a potential college student—your overall academic performance, your involvement in the school community, and your character.

    If your school mails Part 2 of your application as a package, teachers may want to give their recommendation forms or letters to your school’s guidance or college counseling office. If not, teachers should mail their recommendations directly to the college admission office on stationery bearing the school’s letterhead.

    Other Recommendations

    Pay strict attention to application guidelines regarding recommendations. Never submit more recommendations than requested by the colleges and restrict your "recommenders" to people who know you personally and in the context of your academic performance or other areas pertinent to your admission to college.

    You may be asked or you may wish to submit a recommendation from your coach, teacher, or director of an athletic or performing arts program, or other activity in an area of your interest or talent. These persons should be knowledgeable about policies governing their recommendations and involvement in the college application process. However, you should alert your counselor if you are requesting such recommendations and ask him/her to communicate with the people involved to ensure that school and admission policies are followed ethically and to the letter.

    Requesting recommendations

    Request recommendations as early in the application process as possible and provide your counselor and teachers with the recommendation forms provided by the colleges (or the Common Application) as soon as they are available to you. You should also provide them with the names and addresses of the colleges and the application deadlines. This courtesy will not only facilitate their handling of your recommendations, but will help them submit the recommendations in a timely manner.

    Confidentiality

    Your application will include a space for your signature to indicate that you have waived the right to read your recommendations. It is a good idea to sign this waiver. You have the legal right to read your recommendations. However, a confidential recommendation is more likely to be trusted by the admissions officers who read it.

    Have faith in the process. In fact, you should not ask anyone to write a recommendation for you if you cannot trust them to present you in a positive light. To allow those who recommend you to write it with the assurance of confidentiality is not only a courtesy, but a compliment that says “I respect your integrity in knowing that you are writing things about me that could shape my future.”

    Recommendation forms or letters should be placed in a sealed envelope with the words “Recommendation for (your name)” written somewhere on the front of the envelope and the counselor’s or teacher’s signature written across the seal to further indicate confidentiality. This will also increase the chances that the recommendation will be placed in the proper application file once it is received in the admission office.

The Finished Product

When you have completed your work on the application, including any essays that may be required, you should allow your counselor, advisor, English teacher or some other school official to review and proofread it. If possible, it is also wise to allow your school to mail the entire application—including your official transcript, your essay(s), and your recommendations—all in one envelope. This will increase the likelihood that all the parts of your application will be filed at the same time and reduce the chances that various parts of it might be lost or filed improperly.

Be sure to make copies of everything and record the dates when documents are requested and received, as well as when your applications (and their components) are mailed. In fact, you may want to include a self-addressed postcard in your application packages with which the colleges can notify you once they receive your application.