As counselors, we joke that the answer to every college admission question begins with “It depends...” This feels especially true for the Early Decision question.
This post outlines answers to the most common questions on this topic:
What are my options for applying early?
What is early Early Decision, and who is it best for in general?
What is Early Action, and who is it best for?
How do I decide to apply Early Action, Early Decision, or neither?
What are my application options?
Early Decision (ED): This is legally binding and you can only apply to one school ED. If you get in, you have to withdraw all your other applications and attend your Early Decision College. ED applications are usually due in November, though a few schools’ have earlier deadlines. Some colleges have two rounds of EDI and EDII (fall and winter).
Students sign a contract (not a legal document) saying they will abide by the ED restrictions and schools are very serious about this. For students considering applications to universities in countries outside the United States, you may have some flexibility about holding an ED offer in the US and conditional offers from universities outside the US. Talk to your school counselor about this.
Early Action (EA): This is non-binding. You can apply to several colleges via Early Action. Even if you’re accepted, you’re not obligated to attend. Early Action college applications are also usually due in November, though a few schools have earlier deadlines.
Restrictive Early Action (REA): This is also non-binding but these colleges don’t want you applying to any binding programs at the same time. Like EA and ED, REA applications (sometimes called Single-choice Early Action) are typically due in November.
Important exception: REA means students cannot apply ED/EA to other schools, except to state universities. This exception allows families to hear back from lower-tuition public schools. It also gives students leeway to consider several EA offers.
Regular Decision (RD): This is non-binding. You can apply to as many colleges as you want (though I recommend 8-10). Deadlines range from mid-October to late winter.
Rolling Admissions: This means that the college will review applications as they become complete with all the required elements (as opposed to waiting until a certain date to do everything). Heads-up: Apply early because once those spots are full, they’re full! (I know this because I applied to a rolling admission school my senior year and I didn’t get in- although I probably should have- because I applied too late. Womp womp.)
Note about EDII: The addition of the ED II option is a growing trend and basically plays clean up for all of the students who got dinged by one of the more selective colleges during ED I. More importantly, it also gives students a great opportunity to improve their academic trend, GPA, and test scores and still be able to choose their favorite college and show the strongest level of interest possible. Finally, ED II gives students more time to research, visit colleges, discuss finances with family members, and obtain recommendations from teachers that might have proved challenging in October.
It’s hard to say in general. As I said, it depends. On what? Three things:
1. It depends on you.
If you can check all these boxes, you might consider applying early decision:
□ I am totally in love with this college and I would absolutely attend if accepted.
□ I have done thorough research and can name at least five clear, specific reasons why this college is a perfect match for me.
□ I’ve visited the campus and know I could be happy there. Or if I haven’t visited the campus, I know enough about it to know that I could be happy there.
□ If the school requires test scores, mine are in the range of other students who have been accepted--or at least they’re about as good as they’re going to get.
□ My grades, extracurricular activity profile, and the support from my school (or “hooks,” if applicable) are so good that I (and my counselor, if I have one) feel I have a reasonable chance of getting in.
OR:
□ I’m a recruited athlete and the coach loves me and has let me know--either in person or in writing--that I’m an official recruit who will have their full support in the admission process (and you may even be asked to submit your application through the coach). It's a good idea to have your school counselor contact admissions to make sure that everyone is on the same page (admissions, coach, and student). It’s also a good idea to have visited the campus and spent some quality time with your future coach and teammates.
2. It depends on money.
Why? If you’re accepted Early Decision, the college will put together a financial aid package and send your family a bill and that can get, well, complicated. So ask:
□ Can your family afford to pay the Estimated Family Contribution or EFC that was determined by your FAFSA application or Net Price Calculator (or can they pay whatever the college tells you to)?
3. It depends on the school.
Why? Some schools value ED more than others. How do we know? Some schools fill a good portion (over 50%) of their class in the early application rounds. Further, if you compare the Regular Decision acceptance rate to that of Early Decision acceptance rates, some schools have way different numbers. For example, the Regular Decision acceptance rate for one school last year was around 10%, while their Early Decision acceptance rate was around 30%. That’s three times higher! (Interesting, huh?)
But not every school’s ED rate is three times higher than its RD rate. And wouldn’t it be nice to know the statistics for all schools? In fact, wouldn’t it be cool if someone assembled an Excel spreadsheet that compared the Early Decision and Regular Decision acceptance rates for hundreds of colleges?
Fortunately, someone has. Well, two someones.
You can check out this spreadsheet compiled by Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy that aggregates the Early Decision and Regular Decision data for over 300 schools. This spreadsheet also includes the percentage of the class filled during the Early Decision round.
Here’s a flowchart that maps all this out:
Shout-out to my friend and colleague Susan Dabbar from Admission Smarts for putting this chart together.
“Students who have done their research, visited an array of schools, and have identified their dream school may decide to apply through a binding early decision program. While this may be a great option for some, students who need to compare financial aid awards should wait to apply in either early action or regular decision rounds. Before making the decision to apply to a school through an early decision plan, families should be confident that it makes sense for their pocketbook as well as their futures. There are plenty of tools at your disposal (the most accessible of which will be a school's net-price calculator--not a promise, but a good estimate of expected cost), so be sure to speak with the admission officer or financial aid officer at the school before applying under an early decision plan."
“Know that you will still have great options if you don’t apply early decision. This is an important commitment, so take your time, spend time on campuses, and be realistic about what you can afford.”
- Lee Ann Backlund, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid and Vice President for Enrollment Planning at Sewanee
What About Early Action?
Applying EA may or may not increase your chances of admission, but it can’t hurt unless you need: more time to write a really great application, higher test scores, or to count senior year grades. If you need more time to do these things, you may want to apply Regular Decision.
Getting an early acceptance in your senior year reduces stress and may shorten your college list. The downside? You may get bad news earlier in your senior year before you get any good news. This can be important feedback, however, since you may have overestimated your chances of being admitted to the colleges on your list. Accept it as a reality check and adjust your college list accordingly. Also, know that you may be accepted in, say, December but have to wait until March for your financial aid award.
So how do I decide whether to apply ED, EA, or RD? (A Brief Step-by-Step Guide)
First, do your research. Go through the college search process described on our post, which means you should:
Go through a process of self-discovery to learn what you want,
Research a bunch of colleges,
Check to see if one college is perfect for you, and then,
Generate a long list of at least five reasons why this is so.
I’d recommend doing Step 4 whether you’re writing a “Why us” essay for that school or not, as your ability to articulate your “why” will serve you during your interview (if the college has one).
Make sure you can check ALL the boxes under “Who is Early Decision best for in general?”
Run the Net Price Calculator to make sure you can afford it.
Learn how much demonstrated interest matters to the school by consulting Jennie and Jeff’s chart and notice: 1.) Do the college’s ED and RD acceptance rates differ significantly? 2.) Does the school fill a large percentage of its class via Early Decision? (I’d say 60% counts as a “large” percentage of students, whereas ten percent is not.)
And just in case this wasn’t already obvious: I’m not saying you should apply ED to a school simply because a chart tells you that you may have a better chance of getting in. Steps 1-6 will be essential.
Does all that feel like too much to do on your own? If so:
Talk to your counselor.
In fact, do this even if you do all the steps above. Your counselor (if you have one) will be able to advise you based on both your academic profile and their knowledge of how students from your school have fared in recent years during early application rounds for the school(s) you’re considering. But, again, don’t base your decision *only* on this information. Weigh your counselor’s advice in the context of all the other factors you’re weighing and make sure you’re clear on how that school will help you explore and expand upon your core values.
Oh, you thought you’d get out of this post without me mentioning the V word? Oh well.
Can you say how your #1 school will help you explore and expand on your core values?
Wondering what to do next? Explore the wonderful world of demonstrated interest.
But wait! That was a lot.
You deserve a break.
Stretch. Make a sandwich. Do a little dance. Or just think how great it’ll be a year from now when you’re at college.
Exhale.
