The College Admissions Timeline

Today I want to talk to juniors about the college admissions timeline ahead. 

Summer is the best time to work on college applications and essays, which is a much bigger project than most people think, especially because more competitive colleges tend to assign their own extra essays. And the more competitive they are, the more essays they tend to assign. 

Let’s break the summer into two parts: the park before August 1 and the part after August 1. 

Before August 1, you want to work on finishing your list of colleges. You also want to work on the parts of the application you know you can get done before August 1, which includes your Common App essay or also a Coalition Application essay. That might also include a COVID essay as well as maybe working on a “Why this major” essay, which is a commonly requested supplemental essay.

Once August 1 comes, that’s when most college applications open, and you can get to work on those supplemental essays to try to wrap that up by the end of summer so you’re in a good position by the time the school year begins. 

That way you can make those Early Action and Early Decision deadlines in October and November that can increase your chances of getting into your top-choice colleges. If you have more questions about the college admissions timeline, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.