Preparing for Early Deadline Decisions
By Karen Treon, Senior Editor & College Parent
Did your student submit any Early Action or Early Decision applications (related link)? Most schools with Early Action or Early Decision deadlines share decisions with applicants in mid-December. We know that stress and anxiety about these decisions can take a big toll, and we have a few tips and suggestions about navigating this period with your student:
Your student may have received emails from the colleges they applied to with directions about setting up online portals. Make sure your student is checking email and has set up portals where required. Students should regularly check their email and their portals throughout the application process.
Most schools that offer early decision deadlines are transparent about when they will communicate decisions. Social media is a good way to keep track of these announcements – look for “<university name> + admissions” on Instagram, Facebook, or X. Knowing these dates will help you as a parent to avoid repeatedly asking your student if they have heard back yet.
Talk to your student about how they want to read their decisions. Do they want to do this with family alongside? Or by themselves? We encourage discussing this well before the announcements come in and having a plan.
Come December, some students are going to get great news, some will get bad news, but most will get a mix of both. As a parent, here are some tips to be prepared.
Check out Frank Bruni’s “Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be”, its fantastic and can help parents frame their guidance to their students.
If your student gets good news, congratulations! Don’t assume that immediately sharing the news is what your student wants, consult with them first. Your student might want to share it themselves or wait because they know that friends of theirs are processing disappointment.
If your student applied Early Action (or Restrictive Early Action) and the application was non-binding, remind them that they have plenty of time before making a final decision. They can look at other options and compare financial packages in the spring. It’s great to get excited and important to keep options open.
If your student applied Early Decision (a binding application) and was accepted, they will have some follow-up steps to act on more quickly - but they (and you) can take a week or so to celebrate and breathe before they focus on the next tasks.
If your student receives disappointing news...it’s difficult. We get it. Every student is different, but generally commiseration and empathy are the best bets. Buy a carton of their favorite ice cream and follow their lead. Some will want to talk about it and some won’t. Some students might need to re-focus on another round of applications, but they have some time before those are due and can take some time to process the disappointment.
Once your student is ready to talk about next steps, review the list of applications that are still pending as well as any acceptances they may have received early. If they want to add some schools to their application list, this is the time.
Some students might consider applying Early Decision Round 2 – it’s not right for everyone, but some students may decide to pursue it even if they didn’t apply Early Decision Round 1. We will have information on ED2 in next week’s newsletter.
Some students will get deferred - which means that the school isn’t offering admission at this time but will consider the student’s application again when they review the Regular Decision applications. This means very different things at different schools. Some schools defer ALL of their unaccepted early applicants, and other schools defer only a small portion. It can be helpful to research what deferral really means if your student has high hopes for admission.
Finally, download our College Decision Tracker to track deadlines, financial details, and to do items throughout the spring.
