The 2026-2027 application cycle will open January 1, 2026. The deadline to apply is March 31st at 5pm CST.

Stars begins to open mail during this period, however as mail increases closer to the deadline, this process will be slowed. Stars sorts mail in alphabetical order, by last name.

If you applied online, you can upload most of your required documents directly through your Stars account. Once uploaded, these files will remain in a “Received – Pending Review” status until our official processing period begins. Please do not be concerned by this “pending” status; as long as your files are uploaded before the deadline, they will be counted as on time.

Please note that applicants do not have permission to upload transcripts directly. Transcripts must be sent to us through an official third-party platform or directly from your school.

If you submit your documents before March 1, we will work to update your account status as quickly as possible. Please allow up to two weeks for processing, as we receive hundreds of documents and emails daily during this peak window.

While our team will process your documents into the system upon arrival, please keep in mind that we may not fully review them until our official Review Period begins. You will automatically receive a confirmation email from our system the moment your transcript has been successfully received and processed.

If you submit your documents after March 1, please note that your account status will not be updated until our official Review Period begins. Because of the high volume of incoming mail, we are unable to manually confirm receipt during this time.

Please rest assured that if your school has confirmed they sent your transcripts, or if you know your documents were delivered, we most likely have them. Our team downloads and prints transcripts daily, which will trigger an automatic delivery confirmation from your school’s sending platform to let you know it has arrived safely.

We realize that as the deadline nears you will start to grow concerned if we have received your documents. All documents will be filed and recorded as quickly as possible. Rest assured that if we find you sent in an incorrect document, we will contact you and allow you to submit the correct document to us. Please make sure you submit your documents by the deadline at 5pm CST. 

After you have submitted your online application or sent us your physical application, if you need to make any changes to your application, you will need to submit an Application Update Request Form.