As many seniors start their last year of high school, the thought of applying to college is intimidating. It’s essential that you don’t wait to apply, however. Colleges are receiving record numbers of applicants for the 2023 school year.

For most colleges, the final date to apply for the upcoming school year is in January. However the longer you wait the lower the chance you get accepted to the college. The best thing to do is research your college’s application dates. There will most likely be two dates that come up. You will have your early action date and your regular decision date. To even have a chance at being accepted you have to have your application sent in before the regular decision date. To have a better chance of being accepted to your college it’s generally a good idea to submit your application before the early action date. Keep in mind how big the college that your applying to is and how difficult it is to get into that college because that will also play a role in when you should submit your application.

Most colleges use the Common App as a simple way for you to complete your application. The common app allows you to apply to more than one college at a time. Currently, you can apply to over 1000 colleges through the common app, however before you do all the work filling out your application, do some research and make sure your college works with the common app. The college application process takes a while to complete, so the consensus is that you give yourself at least 6 weeks to complete it. This means that if you want to turn in your application during the early action time period, you are going to want to start your application in September, or October at the latest. 

Keep in mind that even if you turn in your application early, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be accepted to the college. Your grades, extracurricular activities, SAT scores, and other factors all go into determining whether or not you will be accepted to the college. For instance, in 2022, Penn States’ acceptance rate was only 58%, and that’s fairly high compared to other, more competitive universities.