Is Applying To College Early For Me?

Applying to college is NOT a walk in the park. As you go deeper and deeper into the process, you'll realize that there is so much unfamiliar jargon that is specific to the college application process. Some of the most important of these new terms are in regards to ADMISSIONS DEADLINES.

 

Most colleges do not employ a single strict hard deadline for college applications. While some applicants are comfortable sticking to the Regular Decision admissions process, others are taking advantage of earlier deadlines - Early Decision, Early Action and Restrictive Early Action.

 

Earlier application deadlines mean that complete applications have to be done much earlier - standardized testing should be completed by October, essays must be written sooner and recommendations need to be requested and completed quicker.

 

The decision to apply early boils down to the student. If your DREAM SCHOOL has an early deadline? We'd highly recommend early application to get your name in the admissions pile first. If your GPA is already as high as it could possibly be, your extracurricular profile is robust, your SAT/ACT score is high and you feel confident in your application... why not apply early?

The National Association for College Admission Counseling defines "Early" as a process by which "students apply and receive a decision well in advance of the institution's regular response date."

 

When applying ED / EA / REA, you typically receive your admissions decision well before the Regular Decision deadline. This means that while everyone is scrambling to hit the submit button on New Year's Day, you may already have been accepted to the school of your dreams.

 

Applying early provides some relief during the Christmas / Winter holiday season, and also provides less competition. Significantly less students tend to apply to a school's early deadlines in comparison to the Regular Decision deadline. For example, Yale University received 38,966 Regular Decision applications in 2021... but only 7,939 Early Action applications. This means that applying early may increase your chances of getting in, given that there are less applicants in the pile.

This is a mode of admission through which "students make a commitment to a first-choice institution where, if admitted, they will definitely enroll and withdraw all other applications." 

 

Early Decision (ED) is a binding contract, which states that once accepted, you cannot reject the acceptance. You are only allowed to apply to ONE school under the ED deadline, and if accepted, you must indicate to all other schools that you will be withdrawing your application.

 

Early Action (EA) is a non-binding mode of admission that allows students to simply apply and receive a response earlier than the Regular Decision deadline. 

 

If accepted under EA conditions, you may refuse the acceptance. You may also apply to as many other schools EA as possible. You may also receive an acceptance under EA conditions, and still apply to other schools under the Regular Decision deadline. In most cases, you may wait to receive your RD acceptances (typically in March) before deciding on which school to attend.

 

Restrictive Early Action (REA) is similar to EA in that it is non-binding, however you may not apply to more than one school early. This typically forfeits your option to apply to any other school under wither ED or EA conditions. 

 

Some private universities will allow you to apply to their school REA, while applying to other public universities EA. This policy varies from school to school.