Being 1st for the 1st

Hey everyone! Happy November 1st!  Many high school seniors are happy today (or they will be at midnight when they finish their application) because today is one of the big deadlines for college applications.  November 1^st is the most common date for “early” applications.  One great thing about applying “early” to a college is that they will give you their decision in mid December, months before the “regular” decisions are made. While many private and some public universities offer this option, some say you may only apply to one school “early”, so it’s important to choose wisely! I have already finished and submitted my “early” application this week, so I am very happy today!  Many of my friends will be up late tonight finishing up theirs.  Hopefully they will click “submit” on their computer before midnight!

The private school I applied to “early” accepted the Common Application, which is also accepted by almost 500 other private schools in the U.S.  The Common App required me to include information about myself, my school and my family.  I listed all my extracurricular activities in order of importance to me, and the time I spent on each one during high school.   I asked two of my teachers and my principal to write recommendations, and they sent these all directly to my Common App file.  I also sent in my official school transcript that listed all my classes and the GPA (grade point average) I had achieved during high school.  I ordered my test scores from the SAT and ACT testing boards and these where sent directly to the school.  Finally, I wrote two essays that will be included in my Common Application file.  Most schools have one or two essays and some questions that are specific to their school in addition to all this Common App information, but most of the information is shared by all schools.  Now that my Common Application is finished, I will have much less work when I go to submit the final application for the other schools!

How did you spend your November 1st? How are your college applications coming? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo