chris
Now that we’re getting into November, application deadlines are just around the corner! It’s really important to know about college priority deadlines and scholarship deadlines. Why are they so important? It can help your chances of getting in and also determine whether or not you get extra scholarships from your school!
Let’s start by talking about normal college deadlines. A college deadline is just the final day that they’ll accept your application. If you turn your stuff in after the deadline, they won’t look at it. Okay, that’s pretty simple, so what are priority and scholarship deadlines, exactly?
The main difference that you’ll see is that these deadlines are always earlier, usually by a month or more. Colleges post early deadlines for two main reasons. Priority deadlines allow the college to review a batch of applications before the tidal wave of all the other ones hit them. If you’re part of the early group, you’ll get first dibs on being accepted to the school, and you’ll get more attention and consideration given to your application. If you’ve been setting yourself up for success, you’ll put yourself closer to the top of the list to be accepted.
The other kind of deadline, the scholarship deadline, is just as important! If a college has one, you have to apply by this date if you want to be considered for scholarships that the school offers. Many colleges and universities have their own specific scholarships, and you can only get them if you’re eligible for them AND you applied by the scholarship deadline. If you miss this deadline, you can still get financial aid, but you won’t be eligible for the extra ones the college offers, so make sure to get your application in early!
So how do you figure out if a school has a priority or scholarship deadline? The easiest way I’ve found so far is to check the College Board’s college search. You can just type in the name of a college on the “College Quickfinder” on the right. Then, when you pull up the school’s profile, you just click on the “Deadlines” tab to find out all of their deadlines. If you want to be absolutely sure, though, you should call the school’s admissions office directly.
If you’ve been managing your time well, getting your application in early should be easy peasy.
How have you been preparing for college deadlines?
A great way to make sure scholarship deadlines are met is to “change” the due and send it in at least 2 weeks before the actual deadline. When my son and I were finding scholarships, I always considered them due much earlier and he got used to submitting them on these new dates. Worked for us, as he won TONS of scholarships and there was no last minute frantic finishing of applications or essays!