The waiting game has begun for seniors to hear back from prospective colleges. After taking months to write personal statements, countless revisions and edits, inserting the final draft into Common App, and finally clicking to submit the application, the months of suspense begin. This is a very stressful time for seniors as control has been lifted from their grasp; the power is now in the school admissions’ hands.

Students who applied for early admission had a due date of October 15, November 1, or November 15. Early admission falls under two categories: early action and early decision. Early action is a non-binding form of application, whereas early decision is binding for applicants. Applying early decision to any prospective school entails having to attend the school if accepted. Early decision will show an applicant’s commitment and desire to attend the school. Those who have applied either early action or early decision will generally hear back from these schools in advance, as soon as early to mid-December.

“Most of my schools allowed early action applications which was very beneficial for me. I was able to turn in half of my applications by November 1, which took a huge weight off of my shoulders,” reports senior Monica Bach.

While applying early can make for a busy fall, many seniors have come to appreciate their decision to apply early admissions.

“Applying early action to colleges has been a stressful process as I have had to meet the deadlines. Although it has been challenging I am glad that I made the decision to apply early to certain colleges. It has motivated me to finish writing my essays, meet the deadline and get my college applications in,” says Gradidge when asked about her early action applications. Gradidge recommends the route of early action applications to future NDB seniors.

In the process of applying to colleges, seniors have made long lists of schools they wish to attend. In this long list, they differentiate from their safety schools, target schools, and their dream schools. The pressure is on; will they get into their dream school?

Some lucky seniors have already heard the good news from some schools. One senior, Adrianna Di Corpo, has already heard back from the University of Oregon and was accepted.

“Just because you don’t get in somewhere doesn’t mean you don’t have other options. There’s always a way,” Di Corpo mentions when asked about advice she has for other seniors when hearing back from schools.

To the class of 2021: one school’s rejection letter will not be the end all be all. Good luck to the seniors!