When should one start their application process?

Applications Season is a duration of 4 months in which most students are preparing their University applications. This is an intense period when students have to put their best foot forward, in the case for students applying for Undergraduate after their high school they have to showcase their academics and extracurricular talents in their college application. 

The so-called Application Season is known for the time when the Universities open their application process. The actual critical time is when students are preparing their applications well before this period. So the real question is when does the actual Season begin? In this blog, we share the key dates, deadlines and advise the best time to start your application process.

When should students start their application process?

The process of preparing an excellent and admission worthy profile is more crucial and time-consuming than the actual time taken to fill the University application form. 

The admissions for example 2021 intake start from usually September of the previous year (2020). There are three admission cycles that many Universities around the World follow, they are:

Early Admissions:

Within Early admissions, there are two options: early decision and early action. They both have different conditions but have similar timelines. The deadline for early admissions is the month of November. The benefit of applying early is that the admission decision is given out Mid-December There are few Universities that offer two rounds of early admission, the Early Decision II takes place in January and the admission results are out in Mid- February.

Regular Admissions:

The most common admission students apply for is their Undergrad and Masters is the Regular Admissions. The deadlines for the admission are in January and February. January 15 and January 31 are popular deadline dates. This is usually after the winter break during which students have enough time to complete their applications. Students who apply under regular decision usually hear back about their admissions decisions in March or April. 

Rolling Admissions:

Many Master programs follow the rolling admission cycle. The timeline for rolling admission depends on many factors. Rolling admission means that the school accepts applications through a period of time. The admission closes when the seats have been filled and there is no more vacancy, it means its first-come, first-serve basis. 

In this scenario, it's better to apply in November or December and follow the early/ regular admission deadlines. Applying early impress admission offices and your chances for admission also increase.

Are you planning of taking a Gap Year?

Students planning for Masters usually prefer to take a gap year or 2, at times students after high school don't want to immediately enter college.Gap year there are two kinds of situations: First, the applicant takes a gap year to either gain work experience or prepare for competitive exams like GRE/ GMATs. While applying after the gap year, it is important for the candidate to showcase how the gap year has helped in the admissions. Usually, the admission department pays more attention to such candidates as they want to see how they utilized their time and what they have gained from the year that makes them a suitable student in their University now.Second, one can defer their admissions decision for a year. That means you would still apply by an early or regular deadline or rolling admissions, and then if they get accepted, they would defer their enrolment for one academic year. This usually happens in case of a medical or family emergency, and for international students if they don’t get their visa for that intake.

To Sum Up…

The majority of students apply during December or January to meet the regular decision deadline. As one is able to complete all the elements of the application by then if they plan a few months in advance. 

If you feel confident and have already prepared your application elements it would be the right decision to apply early, as you would know your decisions early and in case you don’t get in those Universities you have enough time to meet the regular admission deadline.

To meet the deadlines, one should start planning a minimum a year before, this includes your competitive examination, essays, recommendations and many more. The time you take in preparing everything reflects your interest and eagerness to study at that University and increases your chances of getting admitted.

The timeline for admission is just the base of the journey with many more elements on your way to achieving your goal of admission at your dream  University.