Distinctive

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D.

There’s nothing like an imminent deadline to force people to get started. Unfortunately, that mindset doesn’t work for the college admissions process. Planning to start your applications and essays just shy of November 1st, the big Early Action or Decision deadline for most schools, is like trying to run a marathon with no training: You may be able to find your way across the finish line, but the process of getting there just might kill you (just look at Pheidippides, who ran the original marathon).

Most people I know benefit from measured, consistent effort when it comes to accomplishing big projects, especially when they are inexperienced. Setting achievable milestones with short-term deadlines empowers anyone with a will to find their way. For that reason, my Stairway to College Heaven colleagues, Jon Perkins and Phil Sung, co-developed with me The Deadline Dash to help our students accomplish the myriad tasks that come with completing applications. By connecting key actions to holidays, we hoped to make your application season milestones memorable. With seven years between Stairway to College Heaven’s publication and this blog post, however, I thought it was time to update The Deadline Dash to help you adjust to some of the changes we’ve seen in the admissions process.

THE DEADLINE DASH

Memorial Day (the last Monday of May) – 5 km into your marathon

If you’re American, you know this holiday as the official kick-off to summer: hours spent on the beach or at the pool relaxing in the sun. And while I, too, am American, I actually celebrate it as the official kick-off to essay writing season. That’s right. Glorious hours, basking in the blue light of your laptop, reflecting on and expressing your sense of self.

In a way, the name of the holiday is quite appropriate. You’re learning to write your first, short memoir on Memorial Day. By getting a solid first draft done by this date, you’re setting yourself up to successfully tackle those supplemental essay prompts that start trickling out in June like the condensation on your glass of iced tea.

Memorial Day is also the deadline by which you should start preparing materials for any creative portfolio, should you have one. As anyone serious about their craft—be it performing arts, fine arts, or engineering—knows, every piece takes months to properly execute, so give yourself the time to do so by starting now.

Independence Day (July 4th) – 10 km

Wouldn’t it be nice to free yourself from the tyranny of stress in the fall? One of the best ways to do that is by being proactive and getting as much work done as possible in advance! By July 4th, aim to finish the main portion of your Common Application, and at least start writing the all-important descriptions of your extracurriculars for the Activities section. Look into other parts of your applications that can also be completed before senior year. Are there interviews available over the summer? Sign up by July 4th. Are there any colleges on your list left to visit? Sign up for those visits by July 4th. Whatever essays you can work on now, work on them! The goal is to complete whatever you can get done now to feel free and independent in the fall.

Labor Day (the first Monday of September) – 15 km

It’s wonderful that the SAT and ACT both offer September testing dates, but let’s be honest, testing during senior year is awful. Every college has released its essay prompts by now, and all you can think about is how to answer them as thoughtfully as possible while managing school, activities, and life. So, mark the celebration of labor by doing less work and take testing off of your plate by now. If you absolutely need those testing dates, take them, but make them your last.

Additionally, since the Common Application reset on August 1st and almost every supplement went live (if not at that time, then shortly thereafter), you should have completed all of the non-essay portions of your college supplements under “My Colleges” by now. For any of your schools that are not on the Common App, finish all non-essay portions of those applications by now, so that you can free yourself to handle your essays, send school documents and testing records, and interact with reps throughout the fall.

Indigenous People’s Day (the second Monday of October) – 20 km

On this day, we remember those who first settled in North America thousands of years ago as well as the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.” It’s also the ideal date to finish any of those applications with really early deadlines. While most fall on November 1st, the first real deadlines for some schools actually fall on October 15th, and often catch seniors off guard. A few highly selective options enforce this date, as do many southern schools, so keep your eyes out for some of these popular choices:

• University of Texas, Austin
• University of South Carolina
• Clemson University
• University of North Carolina
• University of Cambridge
• Oxford University
• Stanford University (if applying with an art portfolio)

On top of schools with early deadlines, Indigenous People’s Day is an ideal date to ensure that all of your transcripts and SAT or ACT score reports, if you’re not applying test-optional, have been sent. You should also check if your letter writers have uploaded their forms to the Common App in the Recommenders and FERPA section. (In other applications, there may be similar ways to check their progress, or you may have to follow up in person or with an email.) If you have an application due October 15th, remind your letter writers of this. If you are a November 1st applicant, check in and see if they need anything more from you, and when you should follow up again. In most cases, everything gets sorted out in the next two weeks.

Halloween (October 31st) – 25 km

To be honest, nothing is scarier to me than someone who submits their applications on Halloween, but it gives fewer Child’s Play vibes than waiting until the actual deadline of November 1st. Yes, Halloween, my favorite holiday, is your Early Action or Early Decision submission deadline. On many occasions, applications have crashed on November 1st, so avoid an unnecessary scare—and free yourself up to enjoy the planned ones—and get your applications in at least 24 hours before they are due!

Additionally, make sure that all of your letters of recommendation have been sent along with your transcripts and test scores (if you are not applying test-optional). If not, follow up immediately with your counselor or letter writer!

Thanksgiving (the last Thursday of November) – 30 km

The Pilgrims created this holiday to celebrate friends, family, and the successful, shared harvest with the Indigenous peoples of Massachusetts. It should also be a time when you give thanks for finishing your applications. There is really no good reason for anyone applying to a reasonable number of colleges to not finish by Thanksgiving. In fact, if you’ve been working on your essays since Memorial Day, don’t you want to be done by now? So unless you experienced a long illness or protracted family emergency, are applying as a Computer Science major, or unfortunately got started late, make Thanksgiving the holiday it’s supposed to be this year and finish by then!

New Year’s Eve (December 31st) – 35 km

Let’s assume that you did not procrastinate or miss any of your previous milestones in the Deadline Dash, and you’re still working on your applications towards the end of the year for good reason (letting anxiety kick in and tossing in a few extra applications for good measure is never a strategic move, by the way). If you find yourself toiling over essays during winter break, just make sure that you click submit before the last verse of “Auld Lang Syne.” If anything goes wrong with the system, you can at least address it in the new year.

Just like with your early applications, make sure that all of your supplemental materials—school reports, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and testing reports—have also been sent.

Valentine’s Day (February 14th) – 40 km

While chocolates and roses will never go amiss in my household, good old-fashioned love letters are what colleges prefer. Valentine’s Day is not just a date on which you should show your love for the people who matter most to you in your life. It is also the deadline by which you should send letters of continuing interest to colleges, unless a college has specified an earlier date. These are essential gestures to show colleges that you are still achieving in and out of the classroom and that you still care.

April Fool’s Day (April 1st) – 42.2 km, aka The Finish Line

You’ve basically reached the finish line. Congratulations! You may think I’m joking, given the holiday it is, but by April Fool’s Day, you will have heard from every American college you’ve applied to. For many of you, it’s not just a matter of figuring out where to go, if you haven’t already, and for others, you need to decide if you want to appeal any financial aid awards by this date. This can take some time and you may need to gather some additional paperwork, but you only have until May 1st to convince schools to offer more money. So if this is part of your plan, get in gear and start appealing!

In the marathon that is the college admissions process, pacing matters. The Deadline Dash isn’t just a catchy name. It’s a roadmap designed to reduce stress, improve outcomes, and give you the time you need to reflect, revise, and present your best self, when you wait until the last minute to complete any portion of your process, you’re not only risking tech glitches or typos, but also the opportunity to produce stellar work, not to mention to grow through the process. Starting early and progressing steadily allows space for creativity, clarity, and time for joy (yes, you can enjoy those holidays if you pace yourself right). So as you take your first steps toward college, let the calendar guide you, not with panic, but with purpose.