Early Decision deadlines for U.S. colleges are around the corner. Students who have decided to apply early are having sleepless nights regarding their application. There is a niggling feeling that perhaps some aspects of the application might not be complete. Do not worry! Ivy Central, with its years of experience in helping students with their applications, has you covered. We are providing a checklist for your application; refer to this to ensure you are on the right track.
As you already know, an Early Decision is a binding agreement between you, your school, and your parents. This means that if accepted, you will have to withdraw all other applications. Go through the college website one last time and ensure that you still have a feeling that this is THE college for you.
Around the same time that you are applying to ED1, you would also be applying to some Early Action colleges. Early Action is non-binding but requires all application components to be submitted for you to be considered for admission.
Complete your Common App (CA):
Gather all the required materials 15 days before the submission.
- Your High School Transcripts—Grades 9-11
- Test Scores (SAT/ACT)- Final score
- Your Activities List: 10 activities
- Parent information-College information
- Academic Honours and Achievements: Certificates and letters
- Common App Essays-
- College-specific essays: Create a folder of the final essay.
Review all the components 10 days before the submission.
- Take the help of your parents or college counselor to review all the information. Ensure that you take their advice and make valid changes they are suggesting. Make the changes immediately and do not vacillate.
- Check the language of the activities list for the correct representation of your work. Do not add unnecessary details. Colleges want to see your engagement level and learning outcome.
- Check the grammar of the essays and the activities list.
- Fill out the Additional Information section wisely.
- For letters of recommendation, give a gentle reminder to your teachers and counselor regarding the upcoming deadline.
- Ensure that the ED agreement is signed.
Verifications: 7 days before submission
- Verify all the demographic details filled out by you are correct.
- Confirm the spelling of your name matches the transcript.
- Ensure your most significant accomplishments are well represented.
- Proofread all your essays. Do not try to make corrections at this stage.
Prepare to submit 4 days before the deadline.
Keeping the submission until the last date is exceedingly unwise. Whatever you had to tell the AOs, it is already done. Keep a few days of buffer before the deadline. Technical glitches due to heavy traffic on the website can derail your application. Prepare to submit 4 days before the actual deadline.
Post-submission follow-up
After you have submitted, it is important to check your email. Colleges will be sending you an email stating that they have received your application. Keep following the instructions given by the colleges to avoid defaulting.
Once this is done, you can spend a few days enjoying yourself with your friends and family since you have no control over what happens next. However, do not relax too much; you still have to get your application ready for the UCs and then the ED 2 and the RDs.
Starting early helps in staying organized.
All the best for the upcoming application season.
