Congrats — your student is headed for college! As they apply for schools and await decisions, give yourself a pat on the back: You helped them reach this huge milestone.
But the journey is just beginning, and you want to be with your student every step of the way… because where they lead, you’ll follow. To help, we’ve compiled this guide on what you need to know about college admissions deadlines and decisions.
Now, we know the admissions process is no picnic. To make this conversation more fun, we’ll be including tips from the cult classic TV show “Gilmore Girls,” which, if you squint hard enough, is basically about the college admissions process. The entire Gilmore family drama kicks off because Lorelai is trying to get her kid into Harvard — close enough!
Grab yourself a cup of coffee (and maybe a Pop-Tart or ten) and let’s dive into what families need to know about the different types of college admissions.
You haven’t?! It’s not just a show; it’s a lifestyle. Turn on Netflix and get caught up. It’s only 155 hours long! By the time you’re done, maybe your kid will have finally decided on a major.
Here’s a short primer: Lorelai and Rory Gilmore are a mother-daughter duo whose mere 16-year age gap makes them BFFs (the titular Gilmore Girls). When Rory needs money for her college-prep school, free-spirited Lorelai makes a deal with her estranged, high-society parents: If they fund Rory’s education, the Gilmore Girls will have dinner at their house every Friday night.
The show is known for its witty banter and cast of quirky characters, but it’s also a story about the college journey. As a single mom, Lorelai wrestles with big questions like “How do I fund my kid’s education?”, “Where should she go to college?”, and “Can I spend the first night with her in her dorm?” It’s no wonder she spends most of the show guzzling coffee.
Your kid might start applying for schools any time between the summer before senior year through the spring of senior year. In most cases, the earlier they apply, the better. But there are several options that may fit their needs, ranging from early decision to regular admission.
If your student has their heart set on one university — and has a strong chance of admission — they might consider applying by the early decision deadline, which is usually in the fall. Early decision can increase their chance of acceptance, and they’ll get an admissions decision sooner (as early as mid-December).
But this is a big commitment. By applying early decision, your student is promising to attend if they are accepted. Applicants are contractually obligated to attend, so your kid can't back out once they’ve been offered admission, no matter what.
Even if this is your kid’s dream school, things can change. Take Rory Gilmore. The kid had her heart set on Harvard since she was a toddler, but it turned out that Yale was actually the better fit. Is your student really prepared to commit to just one school, or is another potentially a better match?
Plus, early decision could make their schooling costlier, because you won’t be able to compare different schools’ financial aid offers. Unless you have a Gilmore Friday Night Dinner to use as a bargaining chip, you might consider early action instead.
Early action is early decision’s less intense cousin. Your student will still apply early (in the fall) and get a decision back sooner (as early as mid-December), but they are not contractually obligated to attend. In most cases, they can apply to other schools, compare offers, and decide what school is the best fit by College Decision Day (May 1). Essentially, they get all the benefits without the legal obligation to attend.
Early action is a great choice for all those Rory Gilmores out there. But if your kid is more of a Jess Mariano (smart, unconventional, and let’s face it: a lil stubborn), they might want to wait for regular admission. This gives them more time to retake entrance exams or improve their GPA, letting their true brilliance shine without so much pressure on them or nagging from you. This way, you won’t be tempted to pull a Luke Danes and shove them into the nearest river!
Regular admission deadlines are usually in January. This gives your student the most time to strengthen their application and narrow down their college list. Admission decisions are released in the spring.
Regular decision is a good option if your student is still deciding where they want to apply or if they need extra time to strengthen their application materials. But if your kid is an overachiever like Rory — or even a Paris (Stars Hollow help you!) — waiting those extra months for regular admission decisions might feel excruciating.
Some schools admit students on a rolling basis. Students apply within a wide timeframe, and the school admits qualified students on an individual basis until all spaces are filled. Your student should get a decision a few weeks after they apply, rather than waiting for a particular date.
Encourage your kid to apply early within a rolling admissions window. The longer your student waits, the more competitive admission becomes. Some schools might also fill their housing on a first-come, first-served basis, and you know your kid deserves the best dorm situation. Ideally, one without a roommate like Paris and her intense craft corner.
Whether your student is applying early action or regular admissions, most application processes set a second materials deadline. This can get tricky because your student might think they’re all done after they submit their application, but their application won’t be processed unless they also meet the materials deadline.
At USF, for example, the materials deadline comes one to two weeks after the application deadline. Students must submit required documents (like test scores and their STARS (formerly SSAR)) and pay the application fee. Some schools might also require essays or letters of recommendation at this point. Help your student keep track of what each school requires, and mark the materials deadlines on your calendar.
Some parents might think of application materials as their kid’s identity. “It’s Rory in a bag!” Lorelai says, referring to a manila envelope with Rory’s records, grades, SATs, etc. “You add water and her brilliance springs out!”
But you know that your kid is more than their records. And if your student struggles with grades or has a less-than-stellar senior year, there are plenty of options. We’ve outlined some in this post on getting into college if you don’t have all A's.
Whatever the results, admissions decisions will be an emotional roller coaster for you and your kid. Staying flexible is key. And we’re not talking about Lorelai’s definition: “I can be flexible … as long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I can be totally flexible.”
Before we dive into what different admissions decisions mean for you and your student, embrace these ideas:
It’s tough when your kid is denied admission to one of their schools. Rejection stings, but remind them that this school simply wasn’t the right fit for them. Move forward by exploring the universities that did accept them. And if their dream school snubs them, keep your kid away from C-SPAN pressers so they don’t have a Paris Geller “Harvard isn’t interested in me” crash out.
What if your kid is denied admission to all the schools they applied to? You might feel so mad and so sad — or, like Sookie, smad. Try to grieve the decision privately so you’re not putting your own disappointment on your students’ shoulders. Listen and acknowledge their feelings, then reinforce that everything is going to be okay. Because it will! Their alternatives include:
Rejection isn’t fun, but it can be an important life experience. You don’t want your kid to turn out like Season 5 Rory Gilmore, who’s coasted through life on a Carole King soundtrack, completely unprepared for rejection. When she’s (unfairly) told that she doesn’t have the drive to be a journalist, she snaps. Sweet, ponytailed Rory — who once grounded herself for forgetting to return a library book — commits grand theft sailing.
Think of this rejection as an opportunity to model life skills for your kid. Show them how to process and regulate emotions. Help them understand that life isn’t always fair, but resilience is a learned skill that gets better with practice.
Plus, the path to a happy life isn’t always through a university. Just look at Jess. He doesn’t attend college, but of all the kids in Stars Hollow, he grows up to be one of the most emotionally fulfilled adults, working at a Philadelphia publishing house and publishing his own novel.
If your kid was accepted to college, it’s time for all you super cool party people to celebrate. Order a million boxes of takeout and stream Pippi Longstocking (or whatever your family’s most-watched movie is)!
Okay, but what if your kid gets accepted to more than one college? That’s a good thing, but it will demand some big decisions. If they’re feeling stuck, here’s how you can help:
If all else fails, help your student make a pro-con list, Rory Gilmore style. As Lorelai says, “That’s how we make our important decisions!”
Now that we’re in 2025, you can upgrade the Gilmores' hand-written pro-con list to a spreadsheet, with categories for each school’s location, financial aid, academic offerings, career readiness, student life, etc. See which school checks the most boxes. The answer might surprise you.
Whatever your student chooses, remember that this is about them, not you. Embrace Lorelai’s philosophy: “If it’s right for you, it’s really right for me.”
One last note: Just because your student got accepted into college, they can’t slack off for the remainder of senior year and go “truffle hunting,” as Lorelai proposes. Encourage them to keep those grades up.
Deferred admission means the school is still reviewing your student’s application — basically, they need more time to make a decision. There are a couple of reasons this happens. Your student might get a deferred admissions letter if they applied for early action or early decision, but the school has decided to consider them for regular admission. Or the school might want to get more information from your student, like final test scores, before they accept their application.
Referred admission means the school has accepted your student’s application, but is placing them in a different academic program than what they applied for. For example, maybe your kid applied to the nursing program, but their GPA wasn’t high enough, so they were referred to the health sciences program.
Being waitlisted means your student is waiting for an enrollment spot to open up at the school. The university thinks your kid is a competitive candidate for admission, but they’ve received a lot of applicants and don’t have space for everyone. Being waitlisted has less to do with the quality of the student and more with the university’s yield goals. For example, the university may be admitting students who they think have the best chance of enrolling or who have applied to a certain major they want to fill. If your student is desperate to attend the school, advise them to accept a spot on the waitlist and express their interest, but also submit a deposit to a school where they have been accepted.
We keep saying this, but modeling resilience is the best thing you can do. It’s easy for kids — and their families — to picture one sparkling future involving a certain college or major. Questioning whether she’s actually cut out to be a journalism major leaves Rory so rattled, she quits school and sets up residence in her grandparents’ pool house. To answer Jess’ quintessential question — “WHY did you DROP out of YALE?” — Rory didn’t know how to be flexible.
Being deferred, referred, or waitlisted forces young people to consider other options and to live with a degree of uncertainty. Will they ultimately be accepted or offered a spot in the school they want? Will they like the major they’ve been referred to? Who knows! Life is full of surprises… just like ordering takeout from Al’s Pancake World (a surprisingly international, non-pancake cuisine each time). Help them stay open-minded.
Even college acceptances don’t always go how you planned. Your kid may be accepted to their dream school, but to a different campus, a different term, or a special program you just weren’t expecting.
Multicampus schools like USF sometimes admit students to a different campus than they applied for. Or your student might get admitted for the summer term instead of fall. Sometimes this is because a campus/term had already filled up by the time your kid applied, but sometimes it’s a strategic move to help them be more successful. For example, attending USF St. Petersburg in the summer means more personalized attention for your student, which can help smooth their transition to college.
Your student might also receive admission to a special “student support” program providing academic advising, counseling, coaching, financial aid assistance, and more. If your kid is accepted into USF’s Student Support Services Program, admission is contingent on their participation.
If your student is admitted to a special program or summer start date, you might take this personally, especially if you feel your kid doesn’t need any extra help. Even Lorelai experiences this. She might be the coolest mom … but she briefly loses her cool when Rory gets sent to Yale’s psychologist. “I can’t believe you’re going to a therapist!” she says. “They’re totally going to ask you about me!”
Of course, Rory being sent to the school therapist had nothing to do with her mom. Yale was just making sure she was ready to come back to school after her absence.
If your student is referred to a smaller campus/less busy term/special program, this isn’t an indictment of you or their abilities. It’s simply the school’s way of ensuring that your student will thrive. Schools want to partner with you for your student’s success, so if you have any questions, talk to the admissions counselors or the office of family engagement.
By now, you’ve spent 155 hours in Stars Hollow and know the theme song by heart, so when we tell you that “if you call our name, we’ll be there on the next train,” you know we mean it. You have your student’s back, and we have yours.
If you have any questions about USF’s admissions process or decisions, our friendly admissions officers are ready to help. Reach out to us online, or give us a call at (813) 974-3350.
Didn’t have time to read our whole blog post? We get it. “Life’s short, talk fast” and all that. Go ahead and download our free, quick guide to admissions processes and decisions!