Doug*, The Brain

 Doug submitted his single choice early action application to Princeton University more than a week ago and although he was excited, he does not feel much relief.

“When I hit the submit button it didn’t really hit me until an hour later when I realized and said ‘wow.’ It’s not that much of a load off because I know I have tons of other applications and essays,” Doug said.

Though he is not entirely confident, Doug feels that he submitted his best work.

“With schools like Princeton that’s really all you can do,” he said. “They choose from the top of the top.”

If he is accepted to Princeton, Doug plans to apply to Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Duke University and University of Chicago. Doug has already started his UC applications.

“Princeton is one of my first choices but it’s not the first choice,” Doug said. “I will still apply to other schools if I get in, but I am definitely very interested.”

He is also considering Northwestern University and Pomona College. Brown University and Washington University in St. Louis are also on his list because of their eight-year medical programs.

If he is not accepted to Princeton, he will likely submit to Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others.

Doug said that setting his heart on just one school is not his style.

“I would be so overjoyed if I got in but if I don’t get in, it won’t be a chip on my shoulder,” Doug said. “I know I’m going to get in somewhere and coming out of Harvard-Westlake, it’s going to be somewhere great.”

Phillip*, The Athlete

Though he has submitted his single-choice early action application to Harvard University, Phillip has a recruitment visit planned for Duke University.

At this point he feels more positive about Harvard than Duke.

“Harvard said that I would get in, but I’m definitely not set on committing,” Phillip said. “I want to see other schools to make sure that it’s the right decision.”

He said he feels visiting is an important part of making choices about  schools.

“I don’t want to make blind decisions concerning any college,” Phillip said.

He feels very lucky to be able to have submitted and already know what he will hear come decisions in December. He also said that finishing his early application was a great relief.

Recently, Phillip has also heard from a coach at University of Pennsylvania who said he was interested and wants to plan a visit.

To his disappointment, Phillip has not heard anything from Stanford University’s coach, but he still plans on applying to the school.

“I’d rather be on the West coast because I really don’t like cold weather,” Phillip said. “That’s why I’m considering Stanford so much. Although Harvard is an amazing school it has that slight problem. It would suck to be stuck indoors for an entire season. I like being outside.”

Francesca*, The All Around

Despite worries about the server crashing due to Hurricane Sandy, Francesca successfully submitted her early-decision application to Brown University.

Now she is concerned that the extended submission deadline will cause a delay in decisions.

She feels much more calm having submitted her applications to both her first choice school, Brown, and to University of Michigan early action, but is not wasting any time getting started on the rest of her applications.

“I actually have a lot of work right now so it was kind of like that’s done now on to the next thing,” Francesca said. “If I don’t get into Brown I’m going to send to everyone and see what sticks.”

Her list includes 16 more schools, including Ivy League universities,  UCs and small liberal arts colleges.

“I’m a very realistic person so I’m not like I have a dream school and if I don’t get in I will die,” she said.

Arthur*, The Artist

Between finishing and submitting his early-decision application to Brown University, Arthur waited for three days. He made sure to proofread multiple times and waited until his dad got home on the evening he decided to go ahead and press the button.

“It feels really good,” Arthur said. “For a second I didn’t think I would be able to do a good job because of time. I am definitely very happy with my work on it and it’s very exciting. It’s very scary but it’ s very exciting.”

“The next month and a half is going to be really long,” he said. “It seems like forever until Dec. 13. I guess it will come quicker than I think.”

Though he said he will likely start other applications before he hears, Arthur is not sure about his list.

He plans also on applying to Vassar, Yale University and Harvard University.

He is also considering New York University, where he is sure he could be happy.

He said that has been mostly considering what he calls a school’s “artsyness.”

“In terms of likely or safety I’m not to sure which school is which,” said Arthur. “For all I know these places could be mega hard to get into. I haven’t spent much time looking at Naviance scatter grams.”

For now, Arthur is just happy to have submitted his application to Brown, whose supplement he referred to as “a freaking marathon with how much they want you to write.”

*names have been changed