Seniors plan to apply early for college this fall

College. Applications. Campus. Admissions. To people, these words may make them think of the future. To some seniors, however, these words define their present.

Ever since senior Maddy Barnes knew it was an option, she has wanted to apply early. Barnes said she has always been a proactive per
son, so applying for early admission has been a goal for her. She said she plans to apply for early action to the University of Oregon this fall along with many other seniors.

“I’ve wanted to go to Oregon since the beginning of my junior year,” Barnes said. “I always knew about it and had heard more when my sister applied her senior year of high school. I didn’t really fall in love until I started looking into colleges more. It popped up on my ‘colleges that are perfect for you’ sidebar on a website I used to organize scholarship opportunities, so I looked into it. The rest is history.”

According to collegeboard.org, early action differs from early decision because an early decision plan is binding. People who choose to apply for early decision do so in early November. Applicants can only apply for early decision to one college, but are free to apply to many different colleges for early action.

Choosing a binding plan, unlike Barnes, senior Emily Magness decided to apply for early decision to Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

“[Early action is] just really for people who want to find out earlier but early decision, for me, was probably the better route because I knew I wanted to go to that school,” Magness said. “There are other options that I’ve considered but none of them hold up to [Wellesley]. I think, if there’s one you really have in mind, then you should just go for it and do early decision. But, if there are a lot, then go early action everywhere you can because it’s always cool to know that you’ve got into the school.”

Senior Uma Desai, applying early for Stanford University, said she could not apply for early decision because Standford only offered early restrictive action, which is another form of early action.

“Stanford doesn’t offer [early decision],” Desai said. “If they did, I would do that. Early decision is great because you can get the answer really fast.”

Magness said deadlines for early decision are concentrated in the month of November and, usually, many applicants know by December if they have gotten in. On the other hand, students who apply for early action usually find out if they have been accepted in January or February. Applying early action for many different colleges, senior Matt Nixon said he knows the pressure of meeting deadlines.

“I am applying early to the University of Arkansas, the University of Colorado Boulder, Southern Methodist University and Colorado School of Mines,” Nixon said. “The most stressful part is meeting the deadlines for the application and scholarship applications.”

With November approaching, applicant deadlines can weigh on students’ minds.

“Deadlines are hard and fast,” counselor Shari Schaake said. “There’s not, ‘Okay, we’ll give you a couple days.“You have to have all your information in by that school’s deadline. There’s no ‘yes, no’ answer on a lot of those questions on those applications. It’s hard because it’s not like it’s a test; it’s an application. They’re selling themselves, which some students aren’t very good at because they are too humble. So it’s hard for them to sing their praises and speak to those: out loud and writ
e them down.”

Schaake said one advantage of early admissions is the increased ability of the student to show the colleges what kind of person he or she is.

“In some of the essays — selling yourself, making yourself sound good on paper, GPAs, reporting — all that stuff is done now,” Schaake said. “If you’re waiting to do regular decision, you’re letting your transcript just speak for you. If you’re just waiting until later on, when we send all the information over, that’s not a whole lot that you have to go through. I do feel like the early process is a little more stressful for students.”

Barnes said she agrees that the essays can be tedious and stressful on most students who choose to apply early.

“Most of the time, people applying early are applying early for a reason — that being an honors college or a scholarship deadline — which means another essay or two,” Barnes said. “They’re just time consuming and need to be perfect. This isn’t a paper about rhetorical strategy, this is my life.”

Knowing the benefits of applying early, despite the extra stress, Nixon said he knew he wanted to apply early in June and knew what he was in for.

“I decided [to apply early] when I heard abou
t the increased possibility of scholarship consideration,” Nixon said. “The chance I have of getting in and receiving better scholarships is a lot higher by applying early.”

Magness said she wants to apply early decision to Wellesley College because her probability of being accepted goes up by 20 percent.

“I really liked Wellesley a lot when I went to visit, and I feel like it’s a place that I’m really going to be happy,” Magness said. “If I can increase my odds of admission, and I can go early to a school I really like, it’s a really good situation.”

Aside from increased scholarship consideration and probability of admission, Barnes said her reason for applying early was to not have to worry about it later on.

“I wanted to know immediately,” Barnes said. “If I had it my way, I’d be there now. The idea of knowing you’re in and going to attend the college of your dreams is reassuring. It’s less pressure on you later in the school year.”

After turning in an application, Magness said one of the worst parts is the anticipation of finding out if she got accepted.

“There’s always that question in the back of my mind like ‘Am I going to get in?’ because, if I don’t get in, I only have two weeks before all the other applications are due,” Magness said. “I’m applying to 17 other schools apart from [W
ellesley]. It’s going to be a really fun adventure if I don’t get in or if I get waitlisted.”

Schaake said she believes each choice, whether it be how students apply or what college they apply to, is unique to each individual.

“I encourage students to apply where they want to be,” Schaake said. “I think, sometimes, students will apply because they think it sounds cool or their parents have gone there or somebody thinks they should end up there. I encourage kids to go visit, experience it and then apply where they feel like it’s home.”