The Complete Guide – Transizion (2023)

FAQs

How does rolling admission work? ›

Rolling admission means colleges review applications as they're sent in; there is no hard deadline by which you need to submit your application. In contrast, schools with a regular decision policy require you to submit your application by a certain deadline -- usually in late December or January.

You can apply early decision to only 1 college. If the college accepts you and offers enough financial aid, you must go to that college. That's why these plans are referred to as “binding.” Some colleges have 2 early deadlines, called early decision deadline I and early decision deadline II.

If your institution doesn't provide a specific word count, it's best to keep your essay between the length established by the longer college admissions essay format: 250 to 650 words. Word count is just one factor to consider as you craft your college admissions essay.

Early decision plans are binding: A student who is accepted as an ED applicant must attend the college. Early action plans are nonbinding: Students receive an early response to their application but do not have to commit to the college until the normal reply date of May 1.

A rolling admissions process will usually still have a final deadline. A rolling admissions process is not easier than a regular admissions process, so you still need to craft a strong application. You should also consider deadlines for housing and financial aid when choosing when to submit your application.

Rolling admission colleges begin taking applications as early as July and continue as late as April. Your chances of admission will be much stronger early on when there are more spaces left to fill, so it's a smart idea to submit your rolling applications before working on your regular decision apps.

Since Early Decision is binding, you cannot, in good conscience, apply to more than one school using this method for college applications. If you do and are caught, it could result in both schools withdrawing their offers of acceptance. You can, however, apply to other colleges using Early Action.

Certainly! From the day you accept your acceptance offer to the day of your graduation, you can choose to no longer attend the university you're currently at. This is even true for those who accept an early decision acceptance offer, which are usually binding.

Generally speaking, early action programs do not significantly increase your child's odds of getting into colleges, especially at highly selective schools. They simply allow your child to find out sooner whether or not they've gotten in.

How do you make a college essay stand out? ›

Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all! Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

Most college acceptances have a kind of “expiration date” to them. For example, if you do not formally commit to attending the school by submitting a deposit, then your acceptance will be canceled for the year in which you applied. Schools will also rescind any financial aid packages they offered you.

You May Have a Higher Chance of Getting Accepted

Research from the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that applying early decision can raise your chances of getting accepted.

Unlike early decision, you won't have to commit to a particular school under the early action pathway. Therefore, there isn't much of a downside to applying as an early action candidate as long as your application is well-prepared and as strong as it can possibly be.

Niche, a ranking and review site, recently published its list of the “2023 Hardest Colleges to Get Into.” Using data from the U.S. Department of Education on various colleges' acceptance rates and SAT/ACT scores, they found, unsurprisingly, Harvard University to be the most difficult college to get into.

Stanford University is one of the hardest colleges to get into in the US. Every year, thousands of hopeful students apply here, and a small handful gets in — as few as 4%. According to the university's website, it says their admissions team practises a holistic approach.

California residents and graduates of California high schools will be eligible for admission by earning a 2.50 or greater “a-g” GPA.

Perhaps the most damaging possible result of a permanent rolling admission process is the perception that your school isn't selective at all—you're just enrolling students for the sake of filling seats. A rolling admission process locks both school and family into potentially premature decisions.

Disadvantage: Rolling Admissions Can Make You Choose Early

Other schools might expect an early response if they give you an early acceptance, though. You aren't required to commit, no matter what, but you may not have time to wait and hear back from every other school you've applied to.

Is rolling basis first come first serve? ›

Rolling admissions works on a “first come first served” basis, and at this point you're likely one of the latecomers. That doesn't mean there's no food left at the table, though! You just want to make certain that you aren't any later than you absolutely have to be.

Admitted students who can't afford the cost of attendance can often back out of their early decision contracts without penalty. Alternatively, you may be able to negotiate for more aid by contacting the school's financial aid office and informing them of your situation.

You may not apply to more than one college under early decision. If you are not accepted, you will either be rejected or deferred. Rejected applicants may not apply again that year. Deferred applicants will be reconsidered during the regular admission period, and are free to apply to other schools.

Nothing, If You Back Out With Good Reason

Yes, early decision is binding. However, if you have a good reason for backing out of an early decision offer from a college, the school will often let you leave without penalty. A common reason for being released from the offer is due to finances.

While there is some anecdotal evidence that overqualified students get rejected, these students aren't usually turned down because of their better-than-average grades or test scores. Most likely, the overqualified student isn't the right fit for a school or they haven't shown enough interest to admission officers.

Yes, colleges can revoke an acceptance offer any time, including after admitted students put down their deposit. Most revoked admission offers occur between May 1 and the start of the fall semester.

It's not required to tell a college you're not attending. But aside from being the courteous thing to do, informing the school also frees up the financial aid that has been reserved for you so that another freshman can benefit from it.

This means that the average student is more likely to get in when they apply early decision than when the same student applies regular decision to the same school. On average, applying ED is going to result in a 1.6x or a 60% increase in your chances of admission to super selective schools.

Typically, early admission rates are higher than regular or overall admission rates for most schools. At some schools, the admission rate can be substantially better for early admission candidates.

But what happens if you've applied to college as an Early Decision or Early Action applicant? Most colleges will still want to be sent grades from your first quarter of senior year. However, their decision to accept or reject you into their institution will have already been made based on your grades from junior year.

Can I say I in a college application essay? ›

You can use first-person pronouns in your essays, but you probably shouldn't.

The Personal Statement

The most common type of essay you'll encounter is a personal statement for college. For most applications, you'll choose from a selection of prompts and write a longer essay (500 – 800 words) that speaks to your experiences, identity, and goals.

The end of your college essay should be strong, clear, and impactful. You can talk about your future goals, end in a moment of action, what you've learned, or go full circle. Whatever method you choose, make sure to avoid summarizing your essay.

There is no set number of paragraphs in a college admissions essay. College admissions essays can diverge from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in English class. Just make sure to stay under the specified word count.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit. If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words. You should aim to stay under the specified limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely.

Avoid swearing in a college essay, since admissions officers' opinions of profanity will vary. In some cases, it might be okay to use a vulgar word, such as in dialogue or quotes that make an important point in your essay. However, it's safest to try to make the same point without swearing.

Every college has its own timeline for evaluating student applications. It's not unusual for a college's application process to take four to six weeks.

Many of the country's most elite universities accept fewer than 1 in 10 applicants each year. Students should understand that college rejection is a normal part of the process. If you get rejected, take time to grieve — but try to get excited about other schools, too.

Can I accept two college offers? ›

Double Deposits

Double depositing means putting down a deposit, and thus accepting admission, at more than one college. Since a student can't attend multiple colleges, it is considered unethical.

Applying early can be a good idea if you're sure about which college you want to attend. That means you've researched its programs and, if possible, visited its campus. But think twice about applying early if: You want to compare admission and financial aid offers from several colleges.

Pro: Applying Early Means You're Competing with a Smaller Applicant Pool. Most students don't apply early. They have too many things going on, or they aren't sure where they want to go, or a multitude of other reasons. So you'll be competing among (maybe) hundreds or less rather than thousands.

For many students, one of the main appeals of applying early is receiving an admission decision earlier, typically by December or January. The admission rates in the early application pool also tend to be higher, even though the pool is typically more competitive than the regular round.

Is applying early decision right for you? Most experts agree that ED offers higher odds of getting accepted into a school. But applying early decision also prevents you from comparing multiple financial aid packages.

Therefore, scholarship offers can sometimes be more generous to EA applicants than those applying as part of the normal cycle. Further, unlike with Early Decision, EA applications have the advantage of being able to apply to any other school they please if the offer of aid is less-than-satisfactory.

How many colleges can you apply to early action? In most cases, you can apply early action to as many schools as you want. Early action is a non-binding application, and you're free to turn down any school you apply early action to and get accepted by.

With rolling admissions, you can find out if you have been accepted within 4-6 weeks of applying. Some colleges with rolling admission boast even a faster turnaround: 2-3 weeks! This timeliness allows you to make a decision on college earlier than you otherwise would.

If you want a decision early, so you can base the rest of your college applications around it, rolling admissions is a great choice. If you know the school you want to get into early on in your college admissions process, it is an option right there alongside early action and early decision.

Every college has its own timeline for evaluating student applications. It's not unusual for a college's application process to take four to six weeks. Colleges that have an application portal allow students to go online to check the status of their applications at any time.

Can you reapply with rolling admissions? ›

If you apply to a rolling decision school, you can still apply to other RD/EA schools.

The early 'sign' would be a letter to you that you have been accepted, or wait-listed or rejected. In some rare cases, you may get a phone call from the college, because of a mishap with their computer or some process that will delay an announcement.

Yes. The later you apply, the less likely your application will be accepted, as open slots for a program or class have gradually filled up as time passes by. Even if you're submitting before the deadline, it's better to submit it as early as you can, just in case you run into any situations that might cost extra time.

While rolling admissions give students more time to apply, priority deadlines make it easier for those schools to begin forming their freshman classes by encouraging more early applications.

You must commit to that one school and withdraw any other applications you may have sent. Regular decision schools usually require apps to come in by January or February (again, for the upcoming fall).

“In some ways it is. Admissions officers, no matter the office, are making decisions about applicants. But in the same note they have to manage a huge database of information.” Admissions officers are still human, and they make mistakes, no matter how badly they wish they didn't.

Compared to early action or early decision, rolling admissions can be a great, non-binding option to hear back from colleges early. As you apply to multiple colleges, start with your applications for rolling admissions schools. You'll get a college decision from those choices sooner.

Even with a seemingly perfect college application, there is a chance that some of the schools to which you apply will reject you. It's pretty rare that a student gets into every college on the list. For this reason, we recommend that students create a balanced college list to ensure the best results.

“Rolling admission” means that a school doesn't have a hard deadline for applications. Instead, they evaluate applications as they come in, until they've filled a class. Many colleges and universities offer rolling admissions to students. And rolling admissions offer you more flexibility.

Can I change from rolling admission to early action? ›

Once a student has submitted their application, there is no way for the student to change the decision plan within their account. Consequently, there is no way to trigger an Early Decision Agreement for your college.