Don’t Take Your Foot Off the Gas: What Comes After Early Applications
By the time early application deadlines have passed, many seniors are ready for a break, and they should take one. But submitting Early Decision and Early Action applications is a milestone, not the finish line. Regular Decision and Early Decision II still need attention, and the weeks ahead are when students can strengthen their applications, refine their lists, and make more informed choices.
Our advice: have every remaining application ready before winter break, and stay open to adjusting the plan. |
The Bottom Line
Submitted is not the same as complete. Check each admissions portal to confirm transcripts, recommendations, and test scores have arrived, and chase anything missing now rather than later.
Finish before the break. Have Regular Decision and ED II applications ready before winter break, and use the time to fold in new grades, honors, or polished portfolio work.
Keep learning about your schools. Virtual events, interviews, and conversations with current students sharpen decisions and, where a college tracks it, show real interest.
A plan is not a promise. Applying early is not a guarantee, even for strong students, so be ready to revisit the list and how you present yourself.
The Full Story
Early Decision can be a great option for a student with a clear first choice who is comfortable with the binding commitment. But applying early does not guarantee admission, even for highly qualified students. Boston College illustrates how competitive the process has become: for the Class of 2030, BC received a record 41,898 applications and admitted 12.7 percent. Numbers like that show why a thoughtful strategy and a balanced list matter after the early deadline, not just before.
A Clear First Choice, and a Plan B
Last year, we worked with a student who came to MAIA already committed to applying ED I to Boston College. She had a 4.0 GPA from a strong high school, a schedule built mostly on AP and college-level courses, and impressive extracurricular involvement. She hoped to study business. BC appealed to her for its academics, its location near her Boston-area hometown, and its sports culture; football and basketball games were going to be a meaningful part of her college life.
We supported her ED I decision. Once that application was in, we turned to the rest of her list and recommended a visit to Wake Forest University, which offered many of the same qualities: an ACC athletics environment, a strong campus community, and a comparable undergraduate population. She visited, loved it, and we began planning an ED II application.
The early deadline is where a strategy gets tested, not where it ends. |
Presenting Her Interests Honestly
As we reviewed the Wake Forest application, we reconsidered how she presented her academic interests. Like BC, Wake Forest has a selective undergraduate business program. She had completed some business coursework outside of school and held a marketing internship, but she had dropped economics, the only business-related course on her transcript.
Meanwhile, her broader record told a compelling story. She led a school chapter of an organization educating young people about healthy relationships, helped lead diversity and inclusion initiatives, served as a dorm proctor, volunteered in her community, and founded a nonprofit focused on teen mental health awareness. Her essays already explored that work.
Psychology, paired with an education-related minor, more naturally reflected her interests than business. This was not about picking a major we thought might be easier to enter. It was about making sure her intended field matched the experiences and motivations already evident throughout her application.
She was deferred at Boston College. She moved forward with her ED II application to Wake Forest and was admitted.
MAIA’s Viewpoint
An admissions strategy should keep evolving after the early deadline passes. |
The message is not that students should work without a break until every decision arrives. Senior year is demanding, and rest matters. But the weeks after early applications are the time to confirm every portal is complete, finish the remaining applications before winter break, keep learning about the schools on the list, and stay open to colleges that were not on it at first.
No strategy guarantees an outcome. A flexible, well-considered plan helps students make the most of their options and enjoy winter break knowing they are in the strongest position possible.
