<p>Same here, no trouble with requested dates, but you can’t pick your times. So, you need to allow for bad weather- in the cities you listed, you can count on heavy snow for at least one of the days! Some schools tell the student to plan to make yourself available until as late as 11PM. which not only makes for long days but tricky logistics for travel. American cities are simply not good at snow removal- they don’t get it, even though the same thing happens year after year. And, of course, the airports are impacted also, so allow enough time to get from one place to the other.
Getting the application in early does help in getting the date you choose, since it’s logical to work “down” the list. Good luck!</p>