When to apply?

I know I'm wayyyyy early on this topic, but I'm graduating from a BSN program in May 2013, and thinking about applying to hospitals mainly on the east coast. Every hospital I'm checking out has a New Grad program, but a bunch of them don't have a set date for new grads to apply, the website says to "apply to any RN-1 position." In your experience (good or bad), when is the best time to apply for these jobs if I want to start in the summer of 2013? I don't want to apply too early or too late and miss out on getting hired.

I wish hospitals on the West Coast had this issue. I'd apply 3 months out. 1 if you dont feel strong about passing your NCLEX

I started applying for a job a month before graduation (November 2011). I took my boards at the end of February 2012, and continued to apply for jobs. I didn't hear back from anyone until May of 2012. The job market for nurses isn't quite what it used to be, so it wouldn't hurt to get a jump start on job hunting, but I would probably wait until the end of the year.