Written by Carol P. Bartold

Feb. 5, 2014:  Perseverance and patience paid off for Bronxville High School seniors filling out college applications in the fall, although not without some technical difficulties.

According to Anne Abbatecola, director of counseling at the high school, a new version of the Common Application designed to streamline the process created, instead, serious problems--so serious that some colleges responded by extending application deadlines. The Common Application provides a standardized first-year application form that students can use to apply to over 500 public and private colleges and universities.

One of the issues was that some seniors had problems uploading their essays to the Common Application system and were not able to print a draft copy of their application. In addition, Abbatecola reported that, in many instances, students could not obtain confirmation of application fee payments or receipt of their applications.

Their persistence, combined with cooperation from colleges in working through the application process, has begun to pay off, however, because members of the Class of 2014 have begun to receive acceptances.

Although results are far from complete at this point in the school year, Anne Abbatecola reported the following acceptances to date.

Colleges Offering Early Decision 

In applying for early decision, students submit an application by an early deadline and they receive an early response. If accepted, a student admitted under an early decision plan must attend the college. Not all schools have an early decision plan.

Twenty-nine seniors have been accepted under an early decision plan to Barnard College, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Bucknell University, Champlain College, Colorado College, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Denison University, Elon University, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, College of the Holy Cross, The Johns Hopkins University, Muhlenberg College, Rhodes College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Richmond, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, and Williams College.

Colleges Offering Early Action

Students applying for early action submit applications ahead of the regular deadline and receive an early response; however, unlike early decision plans, early action plans do not require that students commit to attend if accepted, and the students generally have until May 1 to make a decision. Not all schools have an early action plan.

Forty-nine acceptances have been received under an early action plan to Binghamton University, Boston College, Case Western Reserve University, College of Charleston, Elon University, Fairfield University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Ithaca College, Loyola University Maryland, Maine College of Art, Marquette University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pace University, Princeton University, Providence College, Roanoke College, Sacred Heart University, Saint Michael's College, Salve Regina University, School of Visual Arts, Southern Methodist University, St. John Fisher College, SUNY Cortland, Tulane University, University of Chicago, University of Colorado, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Richmond, University of Vermont, University of Wisconsin, Villanova University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Yale University.

Colleges Offering Rolling Admission and Regular Decision

Schools that have rolling admission generally notify students of their decisions several weeks after students submit their applications; many rolling admission plans give students until May 1 to make a decision. With regular decision, deadlines vary, but typically students must submit applications by January 1, colleges must send notices to students by April 1, and students must make their decisions by May 1. Not all schools have rolling admission.

Rolling admission and regular decision acceptances have come from The American University of Paris, Concordia University Wisconsin, Drexel University, Edgewood College, Indiana University Bloomington, Iona College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, SUNY Albany, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oneonta, University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, University of Portland, and University of Vermont.

"We congratulate all seniors for their thoughtful search, careful planning, and completion of applications in a year replete with new challenges," Abbatecola said. Counselors are eager to continue to assist students who have not made a final decision and help them select the college that best suits their needs and goals for the future.

Abbatecola noted that since colleges do not uniformly report acceptances, the results are not official. "We rely on student self-reports for information," she said, and urged seniors to report college acceptances to the counseling office.

The school will publish a final list of seniors and the colleges they will attend in June.

Pictured here: Bronxville High School guidance counselors:  back row, Jim Agnello and Ellen Cohen; front row (L to R), Barbara Dhyne and Anne Abbatecola.

Photo by A. Warner