Word has reached me that some of my students might get their first college acceptances today. A few others have already gotten what we used to call “the thin envelope” (back when colleges actually mailed their replies) but are now often sometimes called “re-direction” letters, i.e. advice to head in a different direction, like a different college. Today, though, we’re pretty confident that we will hear back with at least one big YES! The most popular Early Decision reply day is December 15, though, and, like last year, I will try to stay up late to hear the news live as my students hear back. 

Where will you be when you open your first replies? Will your family be recording you to post the clip on your IG? Would you be brave enough to stream live? Will you save the email for a private moment so that you can find out the news without anyone watching? 

I’m not sure I could deal with either a cherished acceptance or a hard denial in public. Both of those can cause a pretty strong wave of emotion that I’m not sure I’d ever want that to be recorded for posterity! Even if I open it in private though, I’d want to make sure I could run out and share any possible good news ASAP with someone who will be just as happy for me, so I can totally see opening up that certain email just before meeting up for a study date with a BFF or something.

Of course, if your luck is anything like mine, you’ll see what you think is that magic email from your ED school, save it to open at just the right time, and then find out it was only a bit of marketing spam and you have another few days of anticipation waiting to hear back from them. Of course.

November 1 marked the start of the college application deadline season. Some students who applied for November 1 Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) deadlines may start to see acceptances, rejections or waitlist responses as early as the end of the month.

This raises two important obstacles that applicants tend to be blindsided by every year:

1. Early Success: Accepted EA before December, and so you slack off pursuing all your options. Early acceptances should be motivating. They are a sign that you’ve got something that colleges want. However, unless your EA acceptance has also offered you a 100% scholarship on tuition, room and board, there is still room for you to get a better aid or scholarship offer from your potential December 1 or 15 EA or regular decision (RD) applications. Don’t let early success make you complacent. Get those applications in, get them done with the same high level of quality that your first application was, and get the chance to make the best-informed choice among a pool of acceptance offers.
2. Early Rejections: Rejections at this early stage discourage some seniors from being optimistic about their other applications. Many students send ED and EA applications to schools well outside their match profile, treating selective admissions like a lottery, where everyone who buys a ticket has the same chance to win. When that super-selective school rejects them, they lose confidence even in their applications to the more appropriately matched college choices. They might stop actively tailoring their essays to the rest of the schools on their list, and ignore demonstrating how well matched they really are in their applications. They may flub their way through interviews, or shut down academically and give up on their first term grades (one of the main tools used by admissions officers in their assessments of RD applicants). That early ED or EA rejection from a super-selective school causes them to self-sabotage the rest of their college list.

So, how can you avoid these pitfalls?

If you approached ED/EA like the Powerball® lottery, try to see the rejection letter the same way. It’s just a losing lottery ticket, pure chance. It is not a reflection on your worth, likelihood of college success or chances of admission elsewhere.

If your ED rejection was from a school that you and your counselors feel you are actually a strong match for, then take a hard look at your application materials and see how you can adapt them to better showcase your strengths and your match for the remaining schools on your list. Is your essay authentic and revealing? in your own voice? is it engaging? honest? Hire a professional to give you advise if it might be too formal, too choppy, or even just too typical. Work on your activity summaries to make them about YOU and not about the whole group. Get strong first term grades and submit them with your RD apps. Call or email the admissions office and confirm your interest personally. In other words, even though November can feel like the end of the push towards admissions, it’s really just another step along the way. Approach December and January deadlines as enthusiastically as you did the early deadlines. Be Strong!