Early Decision/Action Checklist.

My experience as a director of admissions & admissions officer:

So, you’re submitting an early decision or early action application(s)?

Before submitting your early application, here’s a checklist:

1. This goes without saying, but have talked over your plan with your parents/guardians and school counselor? For ED, they will all need to sign off on your agreement, but it’s just a good idea to talk with your college support team about your plans to submit early applications.

2. I assume if you’re reading this, you’ve already made substantial progress on your Common App. If not and you need some help, I did a four-part series on the Common App, walking you through the entire application. You can check out the playlist here.

3. If you’re unsure OR you know your early college cares about demonstrated interest, go back and open emails and click on links from them. And if they continue to email you, continue to engage. This just takes a little bit of time but could make the difference in the committee room if you’re on the border of admit/deny.

4. Check the deadline (again). You may have had November 15th in your head for some reason because it’s another school’s deadline, and your early application is actually due Nov. 1. Take my advice and go check again - and feel free to check the financial aid and/or merit scholarship deadline as well.

5. Speaking of the deadline, I would not wait until the day of the deadline to submit your application. Yes, you can technically do this and you’ll probably be fine. But submitting your application usually opens up your applicant portal (the college will probably email you instructions within 48 hours or so after your submission). Your applicant portal might have additional requirements, like college supplemental questions. I know, this is really annoying, especially if these requirements are not listed on the college website, but you don’t want to panic once you get access. Try your best to submit your application a few days before the deadline, if possible.

6. The portal can also house your financial aid portal/checklist, and typically, admissions and financial aid deadlines for the early programs are the same day. You might have already filed your FAFSA and CSS Profile, but the Financial Aid office sometimes has additional requirements, such as tax documents or income stubs.

7. Confirm that your counselor and teacher(s) have what they need for your letters of recommendation. Remind them of the deadline and make sure they received the link to submit their letters (your school might have a different policy, though, so check with your counselor to see if there are alternate instructions for letter submission, such as through SCOIR or Naviance).

8. Start from the beginning on the Common App, and go line by line in the portal just for spelling and grammar. It’s easy to focus on the content through the process, but you might not be so tuned into spelling and grammar. Remember, portals like this don’t always have the very best AI built in for spelling checks, etc., so read every word.

9. Have you made a compelling case for why this college? This might be found in the “why us?” college supplement, but even if the college doesn’t have a supplemental essay like this, you might want to send a very short email to your admissions officer on why you’re excited to apply and how this college will help you reach your goals. Protip: ask that the email be included in your applicant file. That way, the admissions officer will see your short write up and can consider it in holistic review.

10. Before submitting your application (and I’m just assuming the Common App, but it could be part of a different platform), be sure to download the PDF just before submitting your application. You’ll need to have absolutely everything done before doing this. Then, go through the PDF line by line. If you have questions like, “why isn’t this entry showing up?”, go back into your Common App and find that section. Remember, the college might choose to suppress certain sections, like testing, so if you don’t see it listed on the PDF preview but you know you submitted the information, that might be why.

11. And if you want to do a triple check — and you’re comfortable sharing your writing, answers, etc. — consider having a trusted adult (parent, counselor, teacher, etc.) read through your PDF as well. Or choose my Application Review service, where I will review your entire application and provide advice/edits.

12. Hit submit, see the confetti, and be laser-focused on your email in the next 5-10 days on next steps and additional requirements. I’m not saying obsessively check your email, but you really don’t want to accidentally miss anything from the early college.

13. Be sure to answer any unknown numbers between now and when the admissions decision is released. In rare circumstances, a college might call you for more information.

14. Prepare yourself for the worst. These are often selective or very selective processes, and colleges have a lot of wonderful students applying (including you!). I know it’s very, very tempting to get excited about this college and then just wait to write other college supplements or submit other applications, but your future self will thank you if you don’t to do. Resist the urge! I can’t tell you how many times students say, “I’ll just wait to see if I get in before doing more work,” and then really regret that decision later.

15. Finally, take a moment for yourself. Go for a run, take a walk, sit on your porch, eat ice cream. Do whatever you do to relax and unwind. It’s a major accomplishment just to apply early anywhere - and my best of luck to you!