Why the Word ‘DEADLINE’ is the Most Important Word in the College Admissions Process
According to Noah Webster and his dictionary, the word deadline means:
1: a line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot
2: a : a date or time before which something must be done b: the time after which copy is not accepted for a particular issue of a publication
In 1920 American English, newspaper’s appropriated this jargon to mean "time limit,” which was perhaps influenced by an earlier use in 1864 to mean the "do-not-cross" line in Civil War prisons.
In any event, I think we can all categorically agree that the use of the words ‘dead,’ while unquestionably metaphorical TODAY, and the word ‘line,’ decidedly indicate a time figuratively personified as a line by which something is confined and past which that thing ceases to exist/have merit.
So why is this concept so critical in college admissions? College admissions is always identified as a deadline-driven process. The following deadlines feature prominently:
Application deadlines - reflects the last day a student can submit materials to be considered for a particular academic year or semester and also includes
Early decisions deadlines
Early actions deadlines
Regular decision deadlines
Rolling decision deadlines
Supporting material deadlines - a deadline that may be slightly past the application deadline and by which materials such as recommendations, test scores and transcripts must be submitted
Reply and acceptance deadlines - the time when you must accept or decline an admissions offer from a school
Ok seems simple enough but how do you meet the above requirements and assure that you have a successful admissions process?
Well…..there are…..many more deadlines; ones I would almost even suggest are more conspicuously important. College admissions is not for the faint of heart or, more importantly, for the unorganized.
To apply successfully to college and avoid a sense of panic, a student is best served by creating and sticking to a milestone timeline for the completion of all the component parts of the college application process, including and not limited to:
the formation of a balanced list
the comprehensive and extensive research required on each school to determine and solidify that list
the drafting and revision of the Common Application essay and other application platform essays
the resume/activities list
the supplementary essays
the acquiring of recommendations
Studying for and taking standardized tests
attendance of campus visits, interviews and their prep
assorted other elements that will arise such as communication with admissions personnel at schools or alumni and much more.
Wow - overwhelming - no doubt. You are 17 years old (approximately); you are, most likely, in your all important junior year of high school; you are working your tail off to achieve good, even great grades, and your classes are rigorous and probably include AP, IB and honors classes. You are also likely involved in many extracurriculars, spanning from sports teams to debate or Model UN or volunteering. What a monumental ask for a young adult.
So what is our advice here at Gateway: ask for help! It can be from educational consultants like ourselves and it can also be from family or other individuals in your life on whom you can count for direction and support. Along with that support, you must impose some sort of organizational schema on the process, even if it is not innately in your nature.
In either or all events mentioned above, that milestone timeline and the treatment of it like the old-fashioned definition of deadline, is the immutable key. In August before your senior year of high school, the Common Application, which serves as the application conduit to 915 desirable colleges and universities, opens for submission for that year. There will be students ready to submit applications on that day. You do not have to be one of them. But you also do not want to find yourself working on your AP summer work for school, holding down a summer job, traveling with friends or family while also researching schools and attempting to create a college list, drafting and revising applications essays, visiting campuses, and trying to formulate a resume of activities. Am I right?
When we work with students, we cannot stress enough how important it is to parse out college application work into manageable, achievable components with stringent deadlines. There’s that word again. Essays take multiple iterations before they become ‘ready to publish,’ as do resumes and all other forms of written and verbal communication with schools. School lists will be debated and altered, necessitating that you pivot to new requirements and demands. Just the data entry alone on application platforms like the Common Application and many others requires patience and attention to detail, forethought and careful consideration. This all cannot come crashing down on your head while you enter senior year - remember you will once again be attempting to balance all of this with school and extracurricular demands. Hence, the need to set and complete tasks all along in a moderated way, creating a sense of achievement which will fuel each next step of the process.
Moreover, on a purely practical level, the skills you will develop participating in the college admissions process - diligence, commitment, independence, organization, conscientiousness, communication etc. - are life skills you will need to be a mature, respectful, contributing member of society and will need to use the minute you set foot onto your college campus as a freshman.
In conclusion, (never use that in a college essay), when I set deadlines WITH not for my students, I expect them to be met. Maybe I am the only one initially seeing the end goal: “THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE,” but I can tell you from years of experience that that BIG deadline will come sooner than expected and the more prepared a student is the better they feel, the more successful they are, and the better their results.