How early do you submit your application?

[tll]

I've finished my applications for phD program for the Fall 2015. The deadlines for most of them are in December 15, and they were open on Sept 1st. I'm pretty excited to hit the "Submit" button to take off a large burden on my shoulder, and also I heard that if you applied early, then the admission committee tend to be more relaxed early in the season and more positive reading the applications. Is this true? How early do you guys submit your applications?

The only reason that's holding me back is because I still have the option to update my SOP and resume, and I still have a chance to fix up mistakes if I keep staring at it.

[iphi]

Not necessarily - the earliest application I turned in (end of October last year) took the longest to get back to me! I had to call them because the April 15th deadline was approaching.

 

But, as you say, it is a huge relief!

[TakeruK]

This might really depend on the field/program. However, most programs in my field (including my current program) do reviews of all the applications at once, not as they come in. This is because grad admissions are usually competitive and applicants are ranked against each other so you need to see most, if not all, of your applicants before you can decide.

 

So, in most programs in my field, the deadlines are sometime in December or early January. A staff admin person will compile applications and make sure they are all complete, etc. Then, some time after the deadline (usually weeks later), the admission committees will begin to review applications, have meetings to discuss applications and make decisions. 

 

So, for most programs in my field, it makes no difference whether you submit them now or 1 second before the deadline (well, respect for Murphy's law means you should try to avoid submitting the night of the deadline). In fact, I would even say you have nothing to gain by submitting your application this early. For most of my applications, I submitted them one or two days before the deadline. I did make a few "last minute" changes--in late November, I decided to apply to an extra school and in late December, I decided against applying to a school about a week before the deadline. 

 

I do think the relief of finishing/submitting an application is valuable, but months ahead of time is too much time for me. I would be more comfortable with submitting 1 or 2 weeks early.

[GeoDUDE!]

before the deadline

[VulpesZerda]

Well, if you really think you're done and you can't get any further feedback on your SOPs, I see no reason to hold on to them. It would be a weight lifted for sure! But then you would be playing the extremely extended waiting game of 3-7 months.

[PhDEducation]

I am hitting the button as I complete them, I see no benefit in waiting until the deadlines. It also helps me spread the cost of applying out so I don't have to worry about finding a large chunk of change.  

[bsharpe269]

I am not submitting early because of the SOP mainly. Assuming that you're active in research, don't want you want to be able to include any interesting results you get between now and then in your SOP or add additional conferences and all to your CV? I'm going to wait until closer to the deadline for this reason.

[Crucial BBQ]

I contacted 6 programs last year and asked them this question.  Was told that it did not matter when I applied as the applications would not get reviewed until sometime after the deadline. 

 

One program did only offer potential fellowships to those applying by Jan. 1, even though the application deadline was not until March. 

[tll]

Thanks for all the response. It made sense to me to wait to update on new progress as I'm getting more results on the project I'm working on. Maybe it could help strengthen the application more.