15 February 2012 archive
The Mail Box Never Gets More Attention… 0
Just when spring fever sets in college applications are piled high in admissions offices across the country the pressure mounts. It is not just in those offices either. All college bound seniors are watching their snail mail and email daily. Some have heard already. You can tell who they are by their body language in the hallways. If you are a student you know what I mean.
Some of the most selective colleges no longer adhere strictly to the common notification of April 1. In the last few years they are trying to get a jump on their competition by unofficially admitting a percentage of the stronger candidates around March 15. Dartmouth College, for instance, may send out selected early notification of future admission letters to some strong applicants in February.
With a head start, these colleges can put psychological pressure on a young scholar to accept their offers of admission, as tentative as they may be. If this happens to you, be cautious and do not rush to send in your deposit. You have until May 1 to do that. Now is the time to evaluate ALL the colleges to which you gain acceptance one final time to see if they are qualified to serve you. You have already proved that you are qualified to be a future student there.