Mid-Year Updates From Colleges

Happy New Year! This is the time of year when some colleges send out a summary of their Early Action/Early Decision application numbers. In particular order, except how they are stacked in my inbox, here are some numbers for you!

Dartmouth College
1675 Early Decision Applicants (6.7% increase)
469 Admits (that is 40% of the entering class)
482 Denied
683 Deferred

Brown University
3100 Early Decision Applicants

Georgetown University
6700 Early Action Applicants
14% of the Applicants were Admitted

Duke University
3180 Early Decision Applicants (a 25% increase!)
797 Admits (nearly 47% of the incoming class)
691 Deferred

Stanford University
6948 Early Action Single Choice Applicants
748 Admits
593 Deferred

Boston College
5500 Early Action Applicants (a 4% increase)
2300 Admits

Stay tuned for more stats as they come in and for some Visi specific numbers!

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Some Early Stats About "Early" Applications

Visitation seniors submitted about 250 applications for November 1 deadlines (a number that is consistent with the past few years). If that sounds like a lot of applications, consider what the admissions offices are sorting through:
Princeton received 3547 applications in their first year of offering a Single Choice Early Action plan.

Duke received 2716 Early Decision (binding) applications. That's a 23% increase over last year.

Hopkins received about 1440 Early Decision applications. That's an 8% increase.

Dartmouth received 1800 Early Decision applications. That's a 2% increase.

UVA is reporting a whopping 11,415 applications for their Early Action deadline!

We will post more stats as the news comes in!

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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 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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A Reminder About Early Action at Boston College

We just received a reminder from the Director of Admissions at Boston College about their Early Action policy:

Boston College respectfully requests that students applying to a binding Early Decision program not apply through our Restrictive Early Action program. They are permitted to apply to other Early Action programs, including those of Georgetown and the University of Notre Dame.

FYI, this is Georgetown's Early Action policy also. This is a good reminder that you are responsible for reading the fine print about the admissions policies at procedures at each of the schools on your list. We try to check and doublecheck each transcript request that comes in, but ultimately you need to make sure you are in compliance! If you have questions, see your college counselor.

Published by TSM