Good Time to start on the Class of 2017 Application?

Hello Everyone!
I am a high school junior and eligible for the USMA Class of 2017. As many of us know, the Class of 2017 Application for the USMA opens on January 10 (opens same time as Summer Seminar App). I was just wondering what a good time would be to start actual work on the application. When should I open an applicant file? Are there any USMA cadets and/or Class of 2016 applicants that can provide any insight? I'd appreciate any help! Thank you so much, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! To the USMA cadets, best of luck returning to classes in a couple of days!

I would start on it as soon as possible if only to see what the application entails. I would look to have it complete by early August.

Funny. I started my USMA app this September...

Best to do it as soon as possible. Rolling admissions means that the sooner you have it done, the lesser your competition and the easier you have things.

nuensis said:

Best to do it as soon as possible. Rolling admissions means that the sooner you have it done, the lesser your competition and the easier you have things.

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The USMA does Rolling Admission? I thought that they weren't and did the standard Admissions board meetings and decisions.

wingsofhonor said:

The USMA does Rolling Admission? I thought that they weren't and did the standard Admissions board meetings and decisions.

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Yes, they do rolling admissions.

Edit: I saw the second part of your reply - and they do have a board where they make the decisions, but it's still a rolling admissions application-based program.

-TheChicagoan

I stayed up til midnight the day the application opened for the summer seminar. Stayed up til 3am, and it still didn't show up so I gave up and fell asleep and when I woke up and went to school the next morning (first period=free period), I saw that it was up so I applied. I think that was in december last year, because right before Christmas I got the acceptance. I think I was the first person on these forums to, but I'm not sure if waiting up til 3am for the application actually had any significant impact on my app, so I wouldn't do that; just get it done as early as possible. That's for the summer seminar, I mean. As for the USMA application, you can't really complete that until the end of the year when you have 6 semesters worth of grades; it matters more when you finish the application than when you start it. Ideally you'll finish it over the summer or early next september. Please, please, please don't be like me and get a concussion two days before finals; I didn't even have my transcripts finalized until halfway through september, so no LOA consideration here. Actually, there's a lot of things I did last year that no one should do. I might post a thread on that sometime.

Start as early as possible. The one nice thing is that you can always update your file as you go (i.e. add new accomplishments, achievements, etc). If you start early and have a strong file, you may earn an LOA. There is no down side to starting early as it gives you more time to prepare and refine your file.