When You Should Start Your College Application (2022)

The right moment to begin your application for real? The answer may not be what you’ve expected.

When Should I Start my College Application?

College Admissions Deadlines for Fall 2022

Let’s face it- college application cannot be done last minute.

Not only do you have to write multiple college essays, you must ask for and receive official transcripts, letters of recommendation from your teachers and your guidance counselors. For some schools, you should whip up a resume or create a portfolio. If you need financial aid, you must also fill out forms for FAFSA, CSS Profile, and many more.

You need time to research all the requirements for the application plus the time to actually work on them.

If you are not prepared, you may end up being swallowed up by dizzying race between you and the few seconds left for the deadline. So when should you really pick up the pace for your college application?

When is the deadline for First-year Applicants?

​It would be nice to have a single, solid deadline for all colleges, but the truth is that application deadlines require some brainwork.

The briefest summary is this; most of the early round applications like early action and early decision end in the first week of November. The regular round applications, including early decision 2 and regular decision, end in the first week of January.

Rolling admissions has two separate deadline — priority deadline and the regular deadline. The former gives students higher chance of acceptance. Otherwise, rolling admission gives students largest window to apply as they do not close the application until July, or until they meet the class size.

Do colleges change deadline from year to year?

Yes. Luckily, even though the dates change, the decision types (the enigmatic acronyms like ED, RD, REA and sorts) usually stay the same. It is important for you to check the deadline for each school so you don’t trip over simple mistakes.

Which Time Zone is the Deadline Based on?

Each school has different standard for the submission deadline. Schools like Stanford University or Johns Hopkins University accept applications until midnight PST. Many other schools close the deadline based on the applicants’ timezone. So if one student is applying from India, and the other is applying from New York, their submission cut-off would be different. You must check with the admissions website of each school to make sure so that you do not make any last-minute mistakes.

When do I get notified of the results?

​Most of the early round applicants will receive the result during mid-December. They will either get accepted, deferred, or denied. Regular round applications’ notification comes in February or March.

When should I make the decision?

May 1st is the decision day for majority of universities. There are some exceptions, of course. For instance, if a student has applied through early decision, you must attend the school and notify them of your commitment immediately.

We know this isn’t the end.

Let’s get started on other application tasks with a step-by-step mobile guide.