<p>My son has not filed many college applications yet.</p>
<p>There is only 56 days left.</p>
<p>I am starting to get nervous.</p>
<p>So here is my question. Assuming a college uses the common application, and requires one supplemental essay, how much time does it take to apply to a high ranked college?</p>
<p>As long as it takes to write a unique, thoughtful essay that represents you as a person.</p>
<p>Your S sounds like mine- a classic procrastinator, who does his best work under pressure. Last year, while going through the whole application process, my S would end up submitting his applications to each school anywhere between 10:15 PM and 11:50 PM before the midnight deadlines. This drove me absolutely nuts beause I worried that, if a computer glitch was to occur or he became really ill, he would not submit one on time. Thankfully, that didn't happen. </p>
<p>Your S should have already started some of his suplemental essays, depending on which schools' deadlines are arriving first. I would make sure he has a rough draft for each supplement a few days in advance of the application deadline date, for each school he's applying to, allow him time to edit and get them proofread.</p>
<p>My daughter did all her RD apps between December 20 and January 1. Not that it made me happy mind you. Thank goodness she was off from school then! She's now at Yale so I guess it worked out ok. But the essay is what really needs crafting and can take a lot of time. She "reused" a lot of materials for one supplemental against another. But those 10 or 11 days were "all college applications, all the time" for her.</p>