Should I apply EA or Regular Decision if it costs me my LORs?Answered
I was planning to apply to Texas A&M's EA deadline, which is in two days, on Oct 15th. I just realized that I can't submit my LORs in time of that deadline, because Texas A&M requires you to wait 3-5 business days after you submit your application to get your AIS to be able to submit your LORs then. The LORs are optional, but I think that they would really help my application. I'm also applying to the College of Engineering, so I was planning on applying EA because I know that the spots get filled up pretty quick and I was hoping to have a better chance in EA (one of the undergrad students at Texas A&M that leads campus tours even said that I would have a better chance of getting into the College of Engineering if I applied EA because spots get filled up). I know that I definitely do not want to go to Texas A&M if I don't get admitted to the College of Engineering, so I'm torn whether to apply now for the EA deadline without my LORs or apply with my LORs to the Regular Decision deadline (Dec 1).
Also, if you advise that I apply to the Regular Decision deadline, should I apply next week since I have my essays ready, or should I apply closer to the deadline? I have recently become a web developer for an activist group a few weeks ago and joined a mentorship program, so if I apply closer to the Regular Decision deadline, then I can say that I've participated in these activities for more weeks. Are there any other advantages to applying later? Which should I do: apply next week or wait until the end of November?
Note: Texas A&M does not require a counselor LOR, so if I apply EA, they would get 0 LORs from my school.
(2) the required documents, which includes the fee waiver, essay a, the SRAR, and the school transcript if you are in the top 10% of your class. So without these documents, your application won't be reviewed. For my LOR, i waited until after submitting the required documents to submit my LOR. Maybe you can do the same: submit your application first and then when you receive them, submit your LOR
Also I’m unsure about AM specific policies but you may be able to be admitted into the school then be “undecided” then at the end of your first or 2nd year apply to the engineering school that way. Im 98% confident you will be near auto admitted to the engineering as long as you have a good GPA in college. Just something to thing about.
@francisco thank you for the thoughtful answer! Just to clarify, are you saying that if all the required documents are submitted by the 15th, then it would still be counted as an EA application? Then I can submit my LORs when I receive my AIS (after the 15th), and that would be considered EA?
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I think it's worth calling and asking whether your LORs can come a few days later. If you really think they'll help, and they won't accept them later, you might choose to wait for RD, unless you feel that your application is really strong as is.
I would submit your application as soon as it's ready. For the amount of time you've been doing an activity, it's acceptable to write down how long you expect to be doing them, so applying later won't really change this aspect of your application.
Hope this helps, and best of luck!
Apply EA but only if you have your LORs. If TAMU is your dream school, then apply EA, it will increase your chances, and show the admission officers that you showed initiative and really want to join the school. If not then they will defer you to RD, and from there you can just add all the activities that you wanted. But all in all, get your LORS first then EA
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Hi! So i already applied to A&M and from my experience, they first accept you to the university itself and then it take two weeks after being accepted to determine your decision for the college of engineering. Texas A&M also practices rolling admission, meaning they review applications as they get them. In my opinion, if you do not feel ready to apply EA, you should submit your application as soon as everything is ready. Also, your application won't be sent to A&M until they receive all of (1)