What does it mean to apply early? What if you change your mind about acceptance?

[RiemannForBeginners]

I'm confused: what does it mean to apply early? If a school has an application deadline of December 1, is applying early November 25th or September 15th?  What deadline should I give my LOR writers: how many weeks before the deadline?

 

Also, what is the acceptance process on the candidate's part? If we accept an offer from a university before others have made offers, can we change our minds? This is a problem we should all have!  But I'm confused about that whole process.

[TLC]

I personally applied as soon as applications were available/open (September) and I had my letters ready to go (in hand/written by my references and ready to be electronically submitted if necessary) in July. Rolling admissions are different of course.

When acceptance letters start to roll in, there are usually deposits required to 'hold your seat'. These are OFTEN non-refundable. You are welcome to change your mind and accept another offer. I have also read on this forum that some schools are flexible and will allow you time to wait for other schools to give you a decision. I have also read that some applicants speed up the decision making process by letting schools know that they have multiple offers (that may have been on another forum).

This is all one persons experience, I am sure it varies and I hope others chime in.

Edited August 19, 2014 by TLC

[Kristopher]

To add to TLC's great response, deposits are usually about $100 to hold a spot. $100 is not something to sneeze at, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not much to make sure you have a spot somewhere.

 

Try not to apply by the deadline but try to apply by when the window opens for them to accept applications. You may not get everything in as soon as their window opens, but if you set that as a goal you'll get your stuff in well before the deadline.

[RiemannForBeginners]

Omg, thank you both! I had NO IDEA.  How do people apply so quickly after the application opens? I will probably need 203 weeks for the essays alone.

 

So if Columbia, for ex, just opened their applications and the deadline is December 1, it's a good idea to submit as soon as possible?

I haven't asked my recommenders for letters yet, but I can do it asap. Is it polite/appropriate to ask them to submit their letters by October 1 or October 15th, if they can?  I'm thinking I have to give them 5-6 weeks at least.

[TLC]

I think SDSU is the only school that I applied to that waited to tell folks if they were admitted or not. My reasoning for applying early was to hear back early. I would think that asking your references soon as possible is your best bet.

[KNik]

1. I would tell your references the app is due Dec. 1. Give them as much time as possible. 2. Columbia is not rolling admissions. If you get your app done by Dec 1. they send out each round of acceptances in "waves" so a bunch of people hear at the same time. Good luck!

[RiemannForBeginners]

Thank you all! This is incredibly helpful.

Good luck to everyone applying for Fall 2015!

[Lifesaver]

In my experience, the schools that had rolling admission and let me know quickly gave me a decent chunk of time to accept their offer. To the tune of a few months. The ones who wait will only give you about two weeks to make your decision, however they will gladly give you an extension if you're still waiting to hear back from another school.