Here's to Procrastination

Happy Halloween Seniors!! We have received many, many questions about whether a November 1 deadline means that the application should be submitted by midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow night. I honestly do not recall having this question in previous years. Gosh, I think I would have wanted to have that application in already so I could be enjoying Halloween festivities. But that's just me. If you are toiling away right this second and could really use oh say another 24 hours, here's the scoop.


Your best bet is to check the college's website to be absolutely sure. Since so many of the questions I've received have been about the University of Maryland College Park, here is what their website says:

Does my application need to be received or postmarked by November 1 in order for me to meet the priority deadline?


In order to meet the priority application deadline of November 1, any mailed materials will need to be postmarked by the time the post office closes on November 1. Your online materials can be submitted until midnight (11:59pm EST) on November 1.


Here is the link: http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admissions/apply/FRAppFAQ.asp

Again, this is just UMCP's policy, so always doublecheck to make sure if you plan to work up until the last possible moment. In other November 1 deadline news, one of my students told me that Fairfield extended their Early Action deadline due to the storms and power outages in New England.

Keep calm and carry on!

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The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Let's begin with something to be filed under The Best of Times:
Congratulations to the Class of 2012 on your victory!"Visilution" was hilarious and I paricularly enjoyed the rings of fire representing the College Board and AP exams as well as Mr. Kerns looking for his red coat.

Onto the Worst of Times:
It is nearly the end of October and that can only mean one thing - another transcript request deadline is upon us! This coming Monday - October 24th - is the transcript request deadline for applications due:

November 2-November 30th.

Examples of colleges with deadlines that fall during this time are St. Joseph's (11/15), Elon (November 10), and Penn State (November 30th). Many of you have already submitted transcript requests for applications due in later November (and you can always verify what you have submitted and the deadline you have given us by checking the Family Connection website) but if you have not done so, the deadline is Monday.

Have wonderful weekend basking in the glow of your big win!!! And working on applications.

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Yes You Can: Create an Alternate Version of Your Common Application

I just had a panicked student in my office who had "heard from someone in the Lodge" that she could not change her Common Application once she submitted it. Since she's submitting it tonight for an October 15th deadline, she was pretty worried.
While it's true that you cannot alter an application once it is submitted to a college (ie, when you hit the send button and send your Common app to UVA, you cannot change what has been sent to UVA) you can most certainly edit your Common Application before you send it out to other schools.

It's called Creating An Alternate Version and you can find instructions for how to do this on the Common Application website. Here is a PDF that also explains it.

https://www.commonapp.org/commonapp/docs/alternateversiontechnologyfaq.pdf

I'm so glad the Rumor of The Day has been dispelled!

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The Home Stretch

It's hard to imagine that October 10th is really the "home stretch" of college applications. Really, it's the home stretch of Early Action/Early Decision. After that first application is in, it definitely gets easier as you go. Promise! Your counselors are burning the midnight oil getting recommendations and forms done. And responding to emails. Lots of emails. And reading essays. And meeting with colleges. And writing blog posts.

If you are have a November 1 deadline, you should be

• Finishing up your Common Application or School Specific Application
• Essays should be fantastic (don't rush at the last minute!)
• Speaking of essays, I've been reviewing a few and I want to urge you to be aware of the slippery slope of ending up with a "McEssay" (remember the examples our UVA speaker gave?)

Sometimes less is more with the college essay. Don't give up and send in something now that would be better if you did a little more work on it. On the other hand, try not to wait until 11:59 on October 31 to submit your November 1 application. The system will be slow and quirky at that time. And you'll miss all the Halloween fun. Okay, back to work.

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