College Admissions: Why Early Action and Decision Matter

College Admissions: Why Early Action and Decision Matter

In the last decade, early admission programs have become an increasingly important aspect of college admissions. Many colleges are filling 30-70% of their freshman class via Early Action or Early Decision. So, students who wait to apply during Regular Decision are competing with far more students for a much smaller number of seats. Last year, UPENN, Duke and Northwestern filled approximately half of the Class of 2019 via Early Decision.  Meanwhile, we saw an increasing number of colleges adopting two rounds of Early Decision, one in November and another in January. This allows competitive colleges to determine which students in the crush of January applications are serious about attending their institution. Several colleges also joined a group of schools offering both Early Action AND Early Decision (previously, they had offered one or the other, but rarely both). For those of you who are confused by the array of terms and restrictions, here are some key things that you need to know:

Early Decision (ED) is the most restrictive of the programs. Students may only apply to one college Early Decision, and if accepted they MUST attend. This is a binding program, and you are required to sign an agreement stating that you will matriculate at the college if accepted, and that you will withdraw any pending applications at other colleges upon acceptance. Deadlines usually fall in November and students are typically notified before Christmas if they are accepted, rejected or being deferred to the regular decision round. If you apply ED, you must be absolutely certain that the college is your first choice. The upside of ED is that at many schools the acceptance rate is dramatically higher. Brown University had an ED acceptance rate for the class of 2019 of 20% and a regular decision rate of just 7%. Last year, Dartmouth accepted 26% of ED candidates and Cornell 28%, but they took just 9% and 14% of regular decision applicants respectively. UPENN took 24% of early applicants vs. 8% regular decision. The downside to ED is that you can’t change your mind during senior year about where you want to go, and you don’t get a chance to compare financial aid packages. However, many colleges offering ED do have generous need-based financial aid.

Early Decision II-Follows the same principles as ED, but is a later second round of Early Decision. It often falls 2-3 months after ED I and allows students a bit more time to solidify their commitment. In some cases, if a student is rejected or deferred in the ED I round at one college, they may be able to play out ED II at a second school (but only if they have received a letter of rejection or deferral before the ED II deadline). It is important to note that no Ivy League colleges offer ED II.

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Early Action (EA) and Priority Plans-These are much less restrictive programs than Early Decision because students may apply to several colleges under Early Action and Priority Decision rules, but they have until the spring to tell a college if they will attend. Deadlines usually fall in November and December, and decisions are issued in about 4-8 weeks. Students can be accepted, rejected or deferred to Regular Decision.  Although not quite as favorable statistically as ED, most colleges do accept a higher percentage of students during EA. The advantage is that if accepted, some students find senior year less stressful and have time to revisit campuses and make final decisions. There are very few disadvantages since you aren’t locked into attending under EA or Priority plans. Families can also play out all their financial aid options at a variety of schools (unlike ED), and some colleges issue more favorable aid packages earlier in the admissions season when money is more plentiful.

Restrictive or Single Choice Early Action-A few colleges like Princeton, Yale, Georgetown and Boston College have opted to craft specific rules for their Early Action programs which preclude you from applying to other colleges in the Early Decision or Early Action rounds. You must read the individual rules very carefully for these programs; they vary from school to school. For the class of 2019, Harvard and Yale accepted approximately 16% percent of applicants in the EA round, and Princeton accepted 20%; all three posted regular decision admit rates of between 3% and 5%.

While some colleges don’t offer early admission rounds (all of the University of California campuses, U. Washington, etc.), if your selected colleges do offer ED or EA, you should consider your financial situation and the programs carefully. Applying early can yield better overall results and can relieve stress senior year for students who received acceptances in the winter vs. spring.

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed. is the founder of College Admission Advisors, LLC, a Providence-based educational consulting firm which provides strategic, individual counseling for college-bound students.http://www.collegeadvisorsonline.com