College Admission Process

Standard Admission

Application and supporting documents must be submitted by a set date in the Senior year. The dates vary from November 30 through March 15. The college then takes action on all the applications and notifies all students of its decision at the same time.

Early Decision

This program is for students who select a particular college as a definite first choice. The application, as well as all supporting documents, must be submitted early, usually in November. The college will then take action and notify you, usually in December, whether you have been accepted or deferred to the standard admission review period. If accepted, you are under agreement to attend that institution and must withdraw all other applications. Students who need Financial Aid should give careful consideration to applying for Early Decisions because Financial Aid might be affected. Typically, you may only apply to one University using the early decision application.

Early Action/ Single Choice/ Restrictive Early Action

This program is similar to Early Decision but you do not have to commit yourself until the reply date in May. The ‘single-choice’ or ‘restrictive’ early action programs stipulate that you may only apply to one college through early action. You may continue to apply to other colleges through the regular admission process and wait until all offers arrive before sending in your intent to enroll in May. Also, with early action, the college can refuse admissions as well as defer or accept. Check with individual schools for their policy.

Rolling Admission

The many state Universities and some private schools that use this program act on your application as soon as the file is complete. They notify you of the admissions decision within weeks of receiving the complete application. Schools with a rolling admissions system continue to accept students until they reach capacity enrollment.