In a previous tip, we talked about early decision, early action and single action early action. No matter which program you apply under, it is a good idea to follow up around November 12th or so to make sure ALL your materials were received. In order for your file to be complete, the high school must send in their forms, you of course must send in your forms (and the check) and your recommendations must be in as well. Early decision has a very compressed time schedule, so take the time to follow up.

Not to horrify anyone, but in Michele’s own case, she called Dartmouth in mid-November to check and it turned out that her high school had not checked early decision even she had in her application, so Dartmouth had put her in the regular pool. It always pays to follow up. This is the time of year where students need to finish up early applications and get them posted soon.

Don’t forget about the schools that have a second round of early decision—those programs can still increase your admissions chances dramatically from the regular pool and you can wait to hear from your early decision program before committing. Wesleyan has a second round ED program to give one example.

This week we are going to go over a few reminders for students who are in the process of finishing up early applications. If you aren’t applying this year, note these tips so when your turn rolls around you are prepared. These thoughts are based on some of the most common errors we see.

1. Make sure you include the check or credit card information. Colleges won’t process your application without proper payment, and leaving it out will hold everything up.
2. Check all your essays to make sure the name of the college on top matches the school you are sending it to.
3. If there are any special supplemental essays, make sure that they match the college you are sending them to.
4. About three weeks after you send in your application, call or email the admissions office both to make sure your application is complete (or, check online) AND to make sure they have you down for early decision or early action. Sometimes things get confused and with early, the time frame is very short.
5. Finally, while you have your essays done for one school, take the extra time to complete ALL your applications and pile them up around your room. That way if you get in, you can have a giant bonfire, but if you don’t, you’ll be ready to send in the others with no fear of ruining your Christmas break. Better safe than sorry!