The decision to apply to a college early or not can be a confusing one. Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED) allow students to get their applications in and decisions back early, but they’re not right for every student. Northern Virginia college admissions professionals weigh in on when early admissions can be advantageous and when sticking with Regular Decision (RD) may be the right move.
The Basics
Understanding the details of each admissions process is crucial when deciding what option is the right fit.
Each university is different, and not every institution offers early admissions. Some accept applicants on a rolling admissions basis. Some offer both EA and ED, some only offer one, and others offer dual-phase EA and ED programs.
That’s why independent admissions counselor Nancy Griesemer, founder of Fairfax County–based College Explorations, tells students to become very familiar with their top schools’ policies and deadlines for each application period.
“Admissions policies vary significantly among colleges, and you really have to do your due diligence and drill deeply into the website to make sure you understand the policies and understand the interpretations of the policies,” Griesemer says.
EA is nonbinding and allows students to apply early and get decisions back quickly. EA applicants can apply to as many schools as they wish. For EA, student decisions aren’t due until the RD reply deadline — around May 1.
ED, on the other hand, is a binding agreement between the student and the institution. The student, their parents, and their high school counselor sign an agreement stating that, if accepted, the student commits to attending that school and withdrawing all other applications. Since the agreement is binding, students can only apply ED to one school.
While RD applications often close in January or February, EA and ED deadlines tend to fall around November 1. Students can apply RD, EA, and ED through the universal application website Common App to the more than 1,100 schools that participate. Some schools require students to apply through their own application system. Those deferred from ED and EA application pools are typically sent to the RD pool for another review, depending on each school’s policy.
Early Action
EA is generally advised for students who are prepared to apply early but still want to compare schools to find the right fit, says Tracy Wood, a school counseling coordinator at Loudoun County Public Schools.
“The advantage is they get that decision back earlier. They can apply to any school that has an Early Action deadline — as many as they would like — and then choose which school is the best fit for them, whether it’s from a financial aid package, or where it’s located in the country, or the best one for their major,” Wood says.
The nonbinding nature of EA makes it appealing to students who had a strong junior year and have compiled the resources needed in time for the early application period, Wood says.
For students who are less confident in their junior year grades and want their first semester senior year grades to be considered, both Wood and Griesemer advise waiting for RD. Griesemer also says students who want to re-take the SAT or ACT may benefit from applying RD.
Alice Whitener, a counselor at Madison High School in Vienna, says the college application process can be overwhelming and emotional, and early deadlines can amplify that stress. The RD application deadline may be a more realistic timeline for students who still need to gather recommendation letters, send out transcripts, and write essays.
Early Decision
The binding agreement of ED can make the decision more complex for students and their families. For students who have done extensive research and landed on a clear first-choice school, ED can be a way to show serious interest in the institution.
“If it is your dream school, and you know you want to go here, by doing Early Decision you are telling the school: ‘You are my No. 1 choice,’” Wood says.
All three advisers recommend doing considerable research about the institution, particularly on cost and financial aid, before committing to ED.
“I think it really is incumbent upon parents to get the financial house in order as soon as possible and then look at the individual websites and do the net price calculators and things like that to estimate where they are financially,” Griesemer says. Whitener also recommends parents have an honest conversation with their student about their financial capabilities before the application process.
While financial preparation is key for ED, Wood and Griesemer say the student can still usually reject an offer of admission if the institution’s financial aid package is insufficient.
Griesemer says that while it is important for students to follow through on their commitment, she hadn’t seen a college retaliate against any of her students for backing out in her more than 20 years of advising. “It’s been my experience that no college wants a student that doesn’t want to be there,” she says.
Pool Advantage
Some students and their families assume applying through early admissions means a smaller, less competitive pool of applicants. Advisers have mixed perspectives on whether that is an advantage. Whitener suggests that, while there aren’t more lenient acceptance criteria in early admission, the smaller applicant pool can be an advantage. Wood says it is all dependent on the school.
Griesemer advises that early admissions may have some hidden disadvantages. Early admissions, particularly ED, allow the institution to “craft” their ideal freshman class, Griesemer says. She reminds students that the ED pool often includes legacies and student athletes. Understanding each school’s ED statistics can help a student estimate their odds of acceptance.
She points her students to the “Early Decision and Regular Decision Acceptance Rates” chart compiled by Big J Educational Consulting. The chart shows detailed ED and RD data sets for more than 200 institutions. Wood also recommends looking at the Common Data Set for each school.
All three counselors say they’ve noticed a high number of students applying early.
“I do feel like we have a lot of students that apply Early Action and Early Decision. … I think it’s because our students are pretty competitive, so they have competitive transcripts,” Wood says. “In some cases, Early Action is actually more competitive than Regular Decision and vice versa.”
Never Too Early
Starting the application process as early as possible can often give students a chance to dig deep and understand what timeline is best for them. The Common App opens August 1, so students can start applying before senior year begins.
Whitener often works with students in their junior year to create a list of schools they are interested in and advises them on what the application process will look like. Her goal is to alleviate the emotional stress involved so students can focus on making a well-informed decision.
“It’s really never too early to start the process, even if it’s just researching colleges and finding out these application deadlines and how you might want to apply,” Wood says. She recommends students take advantage of college visits, admissions teams, and their high school counselors throughout the process.
Feature image, prostock-studio/stock.adobe.com
