Applying fall 2026 for fall 2027 entry

How to apply, and when

You graduate June 2027, so these applications go out this fall. The earliest deadline is Point Loma on November 15, which is roughly twelve weeks out.

🚨 Blocker, fix this before anything else

Your junior year grades are still blank on the transcript, and Biola requires a letter grade for every subject.

Biola's homeschool policy states the transcript "should include a letter grade assigned for each subject studied, beginning in the ninth year of schooling, as well as the signature of the homeschooling parent or agency representative."

This was logged back on August 13 as a tidiness item. It is not tidiness. It is a hard requirement at the school where you have the most to gain, and the application window is open now.

The parent signature is already covered (certified by Holly Johnson, mother and teacher), so this is only the grades. Also fix the email typo on the transcript, it reads cooperjohnson2008@gmail.com and is missing the "a". Senior year is still empty too.

Owner: Holly, and it blocks Biola outright
Nov 15
Point Loma
Early Action, earliest
Nov 30
Biola
Early Action
Dec 5
Cal Baptist
Priority
Mid-Jan
Biola Trustee
full tuition, separate form
Deadlines are stated for the current cycle. Reconfirm once the 2027-28 cycle posts.

The dates, all three

Biola Point Loma Cal Baptist
Early deadline Nov 30 Early Action Nov 15 earliest Dec 5 priority
Decision notified Jan 15 Late Nov through Dec Early, then rolling
Regular deadline Mar 1, 2027 Feb 15 priority Rolling, no hard cutoff
Deposit due May 1 May 1 Rolling
Application fee Common App $55 $45, possibly waived
Test policy Optional, but scores set your award Optional, but 1470 earns money Not used for admission
Classes begin Late Aug Inferred Late Aug Inferred Late Aug Inferred
If you apply to Stanford, do NOT use their early action

Stanford's Restrictive Early Action on Nov 1 prohibits applying early to any other private college, which would block both Point Loma's Nov 15 and Biola's Nov 30. Cal Baptist is fine either way because rolling admission is explicitly allowed.

Apply Regular Decision on January 5 instead and you keep both early deadlines. Full Stanford breakdown.

Move-in dates do not exist yet

You asked about move-in, and the honest answer is that fall 2027 term dates are not published by any of the three. Unverified

Both Biola and Point Loma start August 31 in 2026, so late August 2027 is the working assumption, and move-in is typically three to five days before classes. Treat that as approximate until the 2027-28 calendars post rather than booking anything around it.

⚠️ Test-optional does not mean test-irrelevant

This is the counterintuitive trap on this page. All three are test-optional for admission, but your 1470 drives money at two of them.

Point Loma: submit it

Worth $24,000

Their merit grid needs any 2 of 3 criteria, and SAT 1430 or higher is one of them. Your 1470 is literally half of what earns the $24,000 President's Gold.

Withholding the score here would be expensive.

Biola: submit it

Feeds the award tier

Tiers are awarded on "unweighted GPA and scores received on the SAT or ACT". Scores feed the award, so the same logic applies.

Cal Baptist: genuinely does not matter

GPA-only grid

Their grid is GPA-only (4.0 earns the $18,000 Trustees), and they state scores are "not required or used for admission", accepted only for English and math placement.

Submit or skip, it makes no difference.

What each application actually takes

Biola

Early Action Nov 30
  • Applies through the Common App, which opened August 1 for fall 2027
  • Three short response essays: 300 to 400 words, 300 to 400 words, and 100 to 200 words
  • The statement of faith goes in the personal essay. Biola is explicit that applicants articulate their Christian faith there
  • Minimum 3.0 unweighted GPA. You have a 4.0 against an average admit of 3.54
  • Transcripts to admissions.transcripts@biola.edu, or sealed physical, or via Parchment
  • Recommended curriculum is 4 years English, 3 math, 2 to 4 foreign language, 2 science, 2 social science. Spanish 1-2 makes foreign language your thinnest area, though Biola says deficiencies can be made up while enrolled
  • Official final transcript required after admission, showing graduation date
  • Updated GPA and test scores due by May 1

The separate deadline that matters more than any of this: the Trustee Scholarship, full tuition, roughly 10 awarded, due mid-January on its own application.

Point Loma

Early Action Nov 15
  • Two references required: one academic, one spiritual or personal
  • The personal reference must be a non-family member. A mentor, small group leader, boss or coach all qualify. Your youth group leader or your tennis coach both work
  • $55 application fee, official transcripts sent directly to PLNU Admissions
  • Deposit due May 1
Open question, needs a phone call

Who writes the academic reference for a homeschooler whose teacher is his mother? Unverified Point Loma does not publish guidance, and most schools will not accept a parent for the academic letter.

Possible answers are a co-op instructor, a dual-enrollment professor, or an exception granted by admissions. This is the kind of thing that quietly kills an application if it surfaces in November. Call now.

Their Early Action is worth more than most. Point Loma has capped enrollment, which makes the cycle genuinely more competitive later. Applying November 15 is a real advantage, not a formality.

Cal Baptist

Priority Dec 5
  • Rolling admission, no hard deadline. The Dec 5 priority date gets an early decision plus eligibility for Lancer Select 2026 date, assumed for 2027
  • One essay, 3 to 5 paragraphs, on a set prompt: "What do you hope to gain from your experience as a student at California Baptist University?" It asks for academic, social and spiritual perspectives
  • Recommendation letters are no longer required. Some third-party sites still claim they are "very important". CBU's own page says otherwise, trust CBU
  • $45 fee, but the email record shows CBU has previously offered a free application, so check before paying
  • Sealed transcripts to Undergraduate Admissions, 8432 Magnolia Ave, Riverside CA 92504. Electronic from a school administrator is accepted
  • admissions@calbaptist.edu, (951) 343-4212
The easiest win on this whole site

CBU asks homeschoolers to "contact your admissions counselor regarding proper formatting standards for your official transcript."

You already have one. A CBU admissions counselor emailed you personally on 2025-12-11 offering to answer questions. That is exactly what this contact is for.

Financial aid timing

FAFSA for the 2027-28 aid year should open around October 1, 2026, though it has run late in recent cycles, so watch for it rather than assuming the date. Watch, do not assume

At roughly $300k of income it will produce no need-based aid at any of these three. File it anyway: some institutional and outside awards require a FAFSA on file regardless of need.

What to do, in order

The first three are all "now" items and none of them depend on each other.

  1. Holly enters junior-year letter grades and signs the transcript. Fix the email typo in the same pass. Blocks Biola outright
  2. Call Point Loma admissions about who can write the academic reference for a homeschooler. Do not let this surface in November
  3. Email the Cal Baptist counselor about homeschool transcript formatting. Warm contact, easy win
  4. This fall: line up the two Point Loma references, one academic and one non-family personal.
  5. Nov 15: Point Loma Early Action.
  6. Nov 30: Biola Early Action. Common App, three short essays, faith statement.
  7. Dec 5: Cal Baptist priority.
  8. Mid-January: Biola Trustee Scholarship, separate application, full tuition. Highest-value form on the list
  9. May 1: deposit deadline, and Biola's updated GPA and scores deadline.

Confidence

Deadlines, fees, essay requirements and homeschool policies all come from the schools' own admissions pages.