implications of rolling admission??

[teeterbunch]

My son is interested in a school that uses rolling admission.  What are the pros and cons, and how does that affect when we should apply?  Is there an advantage to applying early, like September?  Disadvantage? Thanks for any help!

 

Ashley

[mamato4]

Our state U has rolling admissions.  DS applied in October because there was a Nov. 1 deadline to be considered for the honors program, so that's something your ds might want to ask about. This was a safety school for him and it did give a nice sense of peace knowing he was accepted by mid-November. Even if others rejected him, he can always go to state U, which is a fairly good school.

 

Another pro for applying early is that you are most likely to get scholarship money before it's all doled out. Of course, that depends on whether the school gives merit-based scholarships or only need-based financial aid.

[dhudson]

Applying early seemed to be the way to go!

[G5052]

Here's a good article http://www.petersons.com/college-search/rolling-admissions-advantages-disadvantages.aspx

[Mom22ns]

I talked to an admissions person at one University that said she starts looking at applications in August and she keeps looking until all the spots have filled. She said the earlier the application came in the more likely the acceptance. Ds applied to two colleges, both had rolling admissions. It was great having both of those acceptances in before Christmas. We then looked at scholarship offers, had time for another campus visit which we did on special "scholarship" days and really it made the whole process much less stressful.

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DS applied to the CO School of Mines which is rolling admissions.  He submitted his application in December.  Notifications are supposed to take 3-5 weeks.  He didn't hear from them until mid-March or so.  He was waitlisted even though his stats put him in the top 5% of applicants.  In looking at threads on College Confidential, it appears that almost all of the spots were taken by applicants who submitted before November.  The majority of applications received after that were either waitlisted or rejected.

 

My advice - apply as early as possible.

[teeterbunch]

This is soooo helpful!  Thanks!