Category: Colleges

*Updated Daily*

An open letter to the Class of 2021

Dear Class of 2021,

With early decision deadlines close to behind you and your regular apps ready to go (we hope) for the January 1 deadline, we invite you to CHILL for just a little bit. You’ve earned it. Always keep your grades up, of course, and no disciplinary issues but take a few minutes to exhale and relax.

With early results beginning to roll in during December, we realize this can be a stressful time of year for you if you let it be. Instead of making yourself insane with anxiety, attempt to embrace the crazy and enjoy the ride! After all, you will (thankfully) only experience undergrad admissions once so why not make the best of it? You’ve put the hard work in, now enjoy.

In our attempt to help you relax, we’ve compiled a list of early notification release dates below. These change each year, but here’s what we know so far AND if you have info on other schools (OR we’re missing one) please post a comment:

Class of 2021 –Early Decision Notification Dates for 2016-2017:

• Amherst College – December 15^th
• Babson College – ED: by mid-December; EA: by January 1^st, 2017
• Barnard College – December 13^th in the ‘afternoon’
• Bentley University – Late December
• Boston College – EA by December 25^th
• Boston University – December 15^th
• Bowdoin College – EDI: Mid-December; EDII: Mid-February
• Brandeis University – December 15^th
• Brown University – December 14^th starting at 5pm
• Bryn Mawr College – by December 15^th
• Bucknell University – EDI: December 14^th; EDII: February 15^th, 2017
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech) – Mid-December
• Carleton College – December 15^th
• Carnegie Mellon University – December 15^th
• Case Western Reserve University – EA: ~ December 17th; EDI: ~ December 17^th; EDII: ~ February 1^st
• Chapman University – EA: Mid-December (do not release an exact date)
• Claremont McKenna College – EDI: December 15^th; EDII: February 15^th
• Colby College – EDI: mailed December 15^th; EDII: mailed February 15^th
• Colgate University – EDI: Mailed mid-December; EDII: Applications must be submitted by January 15^th. Decisions are made within 4 weeks of completion of the application.
• Colorado College – Mid-December
• Columbia University – December 12^th starting at 5pm Central
• Connecticut College – EDI: mid-December; EDII: mid-February
• Cornell University – December 8^th starting at 5pm
• Dartmouth College – afternoon of December 14^th
• Davidson College – EDI: December 15^th; EDII: February 1^st
• Duke University – December 14^th
• Emory University – EDI: by December 15^th; EDII: by February 15^th
• Georgetown University – by December 15^th
• George Washington University – Mid-December
• Georgia Tech – January 14^th, 2017
• Hamilton College – December 15^th
• Harvard University – December 13^th
• Harvey Mudd College – EDI: mailed December 15^th; EDII: mailed February 15^th
• Haverford College – EDI: December 15^th; EDII: February 15^th
• Johns Hopkins University (JHU) – by December 16^th
• Kenyon College – EDI: mailed Mid-December; EDII: mailed first week of February
• Lafayette College – EDI: by December 15^th; EDII: February 15^th
• Lehigh University – EDI: by mid-December; EDII: by mid-February
• Loyola Marymount University – ED: by mid-December; EA: mailed by late December
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – posting on December 15^th
• Middlebury College – EDI: Mid-December; EDII: Mid-February
• New York University – EDI: December 15^th; EDII: February 15^th
• Northeastern University – ED: by December 15^th; EA: by December 31^st
• Northwestern University – December 15^th
• Notre Dame – December 12th
• Pomona College – EDI: by December 15^th; EDII: by February 15^th
• Princeton University – December 15^th
• Rice University – by mid-December
• RISD – mailed 2^nd week of December
• Saint Joseph’s University – December 25^th
• Santa Clara – Late December
• Skidmore College – EDI: by mid-December; EDII: by February 15^th
• Smith College – December 13^th
• Stanford University –  December 9^th starting at 3pm Pacific (see comments below)
• Swarthmore College – by December 15^th
• Syracuse University – begins mid-December
• The Catholic University of America – EA: by January 1^st; ED: before January 1^st
• Tufts University – EDI: by mid-December; EDII: by mid-February
• Tulane University – ED: by December 15^th; EA: by December 20^th
• University of Chicago – EA/EDI: December 19^th; EDII: mid-February
• University of Miami – EDI: late December; EA: mid-January; EDII: mid-February
• University of Michigan – EA: no later than December 24th
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – by end of January
• University of Pennsylvania – December 9^th starting at 3pm
• University of Rochester – Mid-December
• University of San Francisco – ED/EA: end of December
• University of Virginia – no later than January 31^st
• Vanderbilt University – EDI: December 15^th; EDII: February 15^th
• Vassar – EDI: Mid-December; EDII: ~ February 1^st
• Villanova University – posted on-line by late December
• Wake Forest University – ED: Rolling; EDII: ~ February 1^st
• Washington & Lee – EDI: late-December; EDII: by February 1^st
• Washington University, St. Louis – Mid-December
• Wellesley College – ED1: Mid-December; EDII: late February; Decision with Early Evaluation Option: late March
• Wesleyan University – EDI: December 10^th; EDII: Mid-February
• Williams College – December 12^th
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute – EAI: December 20^th; EAII: February 10^th
• Yale University – December 15^th

While it might seem the most difficult task to date, take a moment and just breathe. Inhale – Exhale – Inhale – Exhale –Repeat.

You’ve got this.

Always,

Top Tier Admissions

SENIORS and parents of seniors, it’s that time of year! Early decision deadlines are looming and finally, all of your effort and editing, angst and anxiety can be put to rest AS LONG as you crafted and adhered to your plan for leveraging the early rounds!

Acceptance rates are significantly higher in the early round so don’t miss the chance to up your odds by applying NOW.

THE TIME IS NOW

• If you are NOT waiting for scores, submit your apps this week, if you haven’t already.
• If you ARE waiting for scores, have all your ED/EA applications loaded into the Common App and ready to go, add scores the 27^th and submit!

Early Application Deadlines for Some Top Colleges:

SO CLOSE… EARLY DECISION II

You’re so close… but it’s not yet time to rest on your laurels. Be sure to finalize your Early Decision II or Regular essays and have them ready. We can help you with your application and your essays immediately via our Common App 911 and Essay Guidance packages! Don’t miss the opportunity to leverage yourself, your essays and your application for the ever-important early rounds.

TAKE CONTROL

It is your responsibility to ensure every piece of your application has been submitted INCLUDING what your high school is supposed to submit. Your school won’t get deferred because a document was missing, YOU will. CHECK the specifics for your early round colleges and make SURE your high school has submitted their pieces and you’ve sent ACT, SAT, Subject Tests (you don’t need to send official AP scores).  Stay on top of the administrative piece behind your applications to increase your odds of staying on top of the Early Decision admit pile at your top choice school.