Beyond official test scores, some schools require all supporting documents (LoRs!) to be in by whatever deadline we are talking about…there is no grace period. UMD is one of these schools, Michigan another. There are more. Boo on them.
Applicants should closely monitor their portals so they can see that everything has been received. For those applying EA, now is a good time to follow up with LoR writers.
I think UMD at least goes by “postmarked” by due date - but agree, it is pretty strict given they are definitely not reading them all on 11/2 at 9am and almost always outside of kids control - I wish they ALL had same rules on this stuff.
From UMD " Applications are considered complete when the online application and all required documents have been submitted electronically or postmarked [emphasis mine] by the [appropriate deadline]"Office of Undergraduate Admissions | Freshman Applicants
But for College Board it would need to be there by 11/1 since no postmark and UMD doesn’t know when applicant requests it, etc.
I also took it to mean if the high school transcripts and such were sent by 11/1 electronically but not processed in portal it was fine (e.g wasn’t marked as “accepted”) by 11/1 but high school definitely sent (and electronically marked) well in advance it was ok. As a parent/student we don’t know (I don’t think?) when college board sends though, where I can (at least in my case?) know when HS sends electronically..
Truthfully though, I would avoid taking chances with UMD who takes very very few people RD, is my understanding. Most schools it is much less high stakes EA-> RD.
Just when I thought my kiddo was culling the list, this week he is fretting that he does not have enough high target/reach schools (he does). I seem to remember this with my older two as well. Schoolmates start talking about where they are applying and it triggers a gut reaction: What am I overlooking, Do I have a big enough list, Will I be proud to put the sweatshirt on, etc.
He added one more (unrealistic) reach, but we are doing our best to keep him grounded and reassure him that he can always add more schools after the ED/EA results come back in mid-December. He has a rigorous course load to keep up with and enough supplementals to focus on right now without adding to the stress.
Over here, I’m the one with the itch to add schools. For reasons, there is an extra helping of uncertainty with this app, and it could easily go either way, such as getting into reaches while not getting into targets. Unfortunately (lol), most of the ones to add would be EA.
As a separate matter, I will add my annual rant about EA not really being early if the results don’t come in December. We are looking at maybe 10-11 early apps, and maybe a third will come back in Dec. The ED app is likely to be a deferral because that’s how they roll. On the bright side, right now there are only 2 RD.
Yes! The desire to add some “reachy reaches” is coming from my husband. He went on 2 college tours with D27 last week and then her ACT score came back higher than expected so suddenly he is driving D27 and I a bit crazy with “what about…….”
D27 already has 15 schools on her list! She shut him down hard on all the Ivies. She just isn’t interested and has no head space left for more supplementals.
But then a classmate athlete committed to Columbia yesterday. We will see if she wants to add a tippy top school when Dad drops the subject for awhile.
This makes me crazy too. I went through and made a list of expected decision dates. D27 is going to apply to 7 EA but only one decision will be back in “late December”
I agree. Annoying when the EA results don’t come out until Jan or even Feb 1 (looking at you, UMD).
I think the issue my son is having is that a lot of his reach schools are RD (or ED) only. He has 7 schools that he will apply to EA plus his first choice ED school. The ED school is definitely a reach and he knows it could go either way. Most of his EA apps are low target/likely schools. I think this is great, but he is feeling like the drop in prestige (a word we try to avoid in my house, but this is what he means) from his ED school to many of his EA schools is significant and he really wants some in between options. I get it.
He has 6 schools lined up for the RD round if things don’t go his way in December, all of which fall in the high target/reach/reachy-reach categories. So I think he is good. And I am really hoping he can avoid those extra applications.
My gut tells me that he will get deferred from his ED school and that is when it’s going to get tricky.
a few ways - first the schools themselves often provide some sort of date on their admission page..
second here on CC they keep a calendar of release dates updated based on when school “officially” notifies (usually per instagram or email)-and prior years are pretty reliably an indicator of next years (w/i a few days) - once in awhile they will throw a curve ball. e.g. one of my kids schools WPI, changed EA from late January to mid-December this year! That is very atypical though. (they also, apparently, added ED only like 5-6 years ago, though, so have been experimenting? EA used to be in December back then)
last if you want to be really OCD (like I can be) you can go to specific schools instagrams…they often post the day decisions are released or a few days before.
Yes, I just went to each schools’ admission page and looked for “checklist”’or “timeline”. Didn’t take too long and will save me tons of time in the long run as I wonder “is that one coming out in January or March?”
And then as L_NewEngland said, instgram Posts when it is close to decision day
one last thing, some schools (of moderate or lower selectivity) may very randomly admit small batches early or on off timelines.. .just a heads up.
My 25 was notified of one school with the ED candidates in early December (instead of EA kids in Jan). And then at another school was deferred EA, but admitted with the ED2 kids a few weeks later with no email update that portal changed! (They happened to check portal for something). Things can be, shall we say, haphazard. And some schools come in random batches over a looooong period of time (looking at you URI).
The tippy top schools are much less random though.
Our HS uses a platform called College Kickstart. Anyone else have this? I like it because it helps with staying organized. On a single page, it lists the schools you are applying to, whether they are test optional, ED/EA/RD deadlines, when those decisions are released, whether there are supplementals (with links to said supplementals), whether they offer interviews and whether they track demonstrated interest. So helpful to have it all on one page!
neat! My kids have had naviance and scoir (different schools) both of which have most of that, but neither had decision release dates! (nor supplemental links).
Ditto on my 27’s reach schools being in the RD round, at least for now, and most of his targets/safeties in the EA round, with possibly one exception. I will be curious if he opts to ED2 to any of his top/reachey choices that have it. I have a feeling that if he hears good news from any of those EA schools before that deadline, he might get a confidence boost and feel like throwing his hat in for ED2? I don’t know. He still has to visit our state flagship and will do that in the coming weeks. That is my spouse’s top choice for him, I think, because of the finances, but I honestly don’t think it’s a great fit for him. I am not going on that tour because I don’t want to inadvertently offer an unsolicited opinion…
And yes, 27’s school was using College Kickstart as well as Maia, but I’m not clear if they’re still using it. The last time they generated a report for him was in the spring before he had his final grades, and his school list has seen a few changes since then. It is a pretty interesting tool though, and I like how it consolidates the financial aid info. We have a meeting with his guidance counselor during parent-teacher conferences next week, so I’ll learn more then.
As a homeschooler and the oldest kid, no one will pressure my kid to add schools unless I do. My only concern is that she has enough reaches on there she’ll probably get rejected from most of them and I hope that doesn’t bother her too much. She had good options she likes she’ll almost certainly get into, so it’s fine – but part of me wants her to have more of those.
Her list is 12 right now. I won’t be surprised if she ends up dropping a few RD reaches with annoying supplements before January. Unfortunately, most don’t offer EA, only ED, which she won’t do. Luckily a target she likes and a safety she’s almost certain to get into do have EA, so that might make it all calmer (crossing fingers). Her very favorite (MIT) does do EA, but they are one of the annoying ones that defers an enormous number of students to reject them later, so there’s a decent chance she won’t actually know anything early. If she’s rejected right away she could do ED2, but probably still won’t, because she hasn’t visited some of those schools.
D27 finally submitted 3 of her EA schools today. She has a few more that are not due until November, I don’t get why she wants to wait as close to the deadline as possible. Asking questions is like pulling teeth wth this one.
