Will Your Student Be Able to Apply Early This Year?
Right now, the undercurrent of uncertainty in the upcoming college admissions cycle may have you and your student to feeling like applying to their top schools early is not a good idea. With SAT and ACT test cancellations and the challenges of adapting to remote learning, finishing an Ivy League application early may seem like overkill – and maybe even impossible. But is isn’t!
The College Board released a statement in June asking colleges to show flexibility to “reduce” stress for incoming applicants this year, which as we reported, prompted many schools like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Columbia to suspend the standardized testing requirement for the upcoming admissions cycle. The University of Virginia, on the other hand, was the first to announce that they would be pushing their Early Decision deadline back to November 1st. Since then, Princeton has gone a step further by eliminating their Early Action application deadline, and accepting only Regular Decision applications, due on January 1st, 2021.
As of this moment, no other Ivy League schools have announced a postponement of Early Action or Early Decision deadlines.
What are the benefits of applying early?
Smaller application pool than in the regular round.
With seats being potentially limited in the Class of 2025 (read our post about how this year’s students taking a gap year could affect your student’s application), if you have the means, the opportunity, and the resources to put your best foot forward in the Early Action or Early Decision pool, you have a much better shot of catching an admissions officer’s eye.
The notification dates for Early Action or Early Decision mean you could know where you’re going to college by Mid-December!
Many experts say you can double, or even triple your odds (based on admissions statistics).
The most important thing to remember is to take advantage of every resource at your disposal, and do not get discouraged or burnt out by recurring unprecedented challenges. For more specific guidance and advice about the admissions process and your application specifically, reach out to an Ivy Link expert here to start devising the best personalized plan for your student.
