Admission Plans: Modes of Admission Access 

When the time arrives to apply to colleges or universities, the student will find that institutions offer a number of plans for the submission of applications. Depending where you are in your personal exploration and decision-making, one of these plans might suit your particular application requirements. 

Review and consider all admission plan options. Consult with your school counselor or the admission counselor at the specific college if you have any concerns or questions. 

ROLLING ADMISSION 

The colleges and universities that review student applications as they are received and make immediate decisions use what is called a Rolling Admission plan. Institutions that receive a large number of applications use this approach simply to manage the volume of application activity. Student notification of the admission decision can usually be expected in three to four weeks following application. 

Students that apply to a college under a Rolling Admission plan can apply to other colleges and consider all offers of admission and financial aid before being required to declare their intention to enroll or submit the required admission and housing deposits. 

Because there are no specific application deadlines, students could miss the sense of urgency in the college application process. Delaying the submission of an application until the week before college classes begin, could result in a schedule of classes that are still available (open). There usually aren’t many open classes left to choose from. A student could end up with a selection of classes that fulfill graduation requirements, but not necessarily classes that he/she would have chosen. Even with Rolling Admission applications should be submitted to colleges or universities as early as possible. 

EARLY DECISION 

This plan was created to help the informed and committed student apply to the institution that he/she has identified as a first choice. For the student who engaged in quality exploration and arrived at a sound decision, this is an excellent plan. It has the benefit of bringing closure to one’s personal application activities early in the senior year while others are still completing forms. 

This plan, however, places certain restrictions on the student. Under an Early Decision plan, the student agrees to abide by the rules of the plan, have only one Early Decision application active at a given time, and commits himself/herself to enrolling at the college or university if admitted and the financial aid award (if required) is adequate. Under Early Decision, a student may be admitted or may be told that the decision is deferred until more information (mid-term grades, senior test scores, etc.) is received. Planning for Early Decision should begin during the junior year and earlier. 

Families considering Early Decision should be certain they understand the college’s/university’s financial aid process and expectations under the Early Decision plan. 

EARLY ACTION/NOTIFICATION 

Under this plan, students can file multiple applications according to an expedited timetable and learn of an institution’s admission decision early in the senior year. 

The concern with Early Action/Notification might be that the student can be denied admission unless the information submitted (mostly junior grades and test scores) is highly competitive and clearly meets admission standards. In other words, the options under Early Action/Notification are admit, defer, deny. Planning for Early Action/Notification should begin during the junior year and earlier. 

REGULAR CYCYLE 

The regular admission cycle has application deadlines typically set anywhere from early January through late February. Admission officers work to review applications and get offers of admission out to students by mid-March or April 1st at the latest. The decision to accept or reject an offer of admission is then up to the student. 

Most colleges adhere to the universal reply date of May 1st as the deadline given for students to consider offers of admission and declare their enrollment intention. Students, however, might feel pressure to commit earlier. If this happens, you should contact the appropriate admission of financial aid counselor to explain your circumstances and where you are in the decision-making process. The colleges and universities will most likely honor the May 1st date. 

Regardless of which plan you choose to follow, it is always best to submit applications as early as possible. The longer a student waits to submit applications the more selective colleges tend to become. The longer one waits that harder it is to be accepted. Unless there are earlier deadlines, LHSS encourages students to have applications submitted before Thanksgiving. Some prepared students begin submitting applications in August and September of their senior year. Students who apply this early have taken the appropriate steps during their junior year and earlier years to enable them to do this ( took challenging classes, made campus visits, took college admission tests, solicited recommendations, participated in activities, etc.).