Students often agonize over applying under an early binding plan, such as Early Decision. It is important that the benefits as well as the repercussions of ED are properly understood, so that you can make informed decisions on whether to and where to apply for ED. In this article we look at the ED process, the pros and cons of applying during the Early cycle, and provide guidance on how to take the right decision on early decision.

 

 

Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision

The three common admission cycles are Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), and Regular Decision (RD).

 

Early decision (ED) is a type of early admission process with a binding commitment to enroll if accepted i.e., if offered admission under an ED program the candidate must enroll at that institution and withdraw all applications to other institutions. Perforce, ED does not allow applicants to apply to more than one ED school simultaneously.

 

Early action (EA) is a type of early admission process that requires students to submit their application by mid-October through mid-November of their senior year and are notified of the school's decision by early January or sooner instead of mid-March. It is similar to Early Decision (ED) but is not binding i.e., you may decline the offer if accepted. Thus, it would be possible for a candidate to apply to one or more EA schools, plus one ED school.

 

Regular decision (RD) cycle follows the standard application deadlines. You compete with a large pool of applicants, wait for the school’s decision, and make your final choice after comparing the admission offers from multiple schools.

 

 

Early Decision – Pros and Cons

EA and ED options are often found to be offered by colleges which are highly selective; no one is rushing to apply to a college which anyway accepts 80% of its candidates. Irrespective of whether you are applying for ED or not, the activity of building a proper college list, with all the necessary research should be carried out without fail. In other words, all your activities w.r.t. college applications should still proceed to plan as you never know whether or not your ED application will get accepted.

 

Many students focus solely on getting into the highest ranked college that they can, and this is certainly a mistake. The goal should instead be to get admitted to a college that best serves your interests, needs and aspirations. Obviously, more than one college will serve this purpose. However, if you are absolutely certain about wanting to attend a specific school, then it may be worthwhile to consider applying ED.  For most international students, this is unlikely to be the case as they have very little basis for having such clarity and to be able to zero in on any single college.

 

Applying ED has a bearing on the financial aid you will likely receive, and you also don’t get a chance to compare offers from different colleges. Your bargaining position is often weak as you are committing to attend if offered admission. Students who are keen on financial aid must keep in mind that applying ED may hurt them in terms of the likelihood of aid, as well as the amount they may receive.

 

The following are generally true though actual numbers and specifics may vary from college to college.

• Acceptance rates for ED tend to be higher than EA or RD. Application and acceptance data for both large universities as well as for Liberal Arts Colleges tend to bear this out. For specifics, you are invited to look at the tabular data in the article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/early_decision

• Candidates tend to be much stronger in the ED pool. There are 2 reasons for this. The ED applicants are generally a good fit, else they would not be choosing those colleges as their ED option. In addition, the applications tend to be very strong as the ED applicants have likely done a great deal of research in a focused manner and the ED pool as a result stands a higher chance of being admitted. In comparison, the regular pool contains a large number of candidates who are long shots

• ED benefits the college as they have a near certainty that the applicant will attend if admitted as against a yield of 1-in-3 or 1-in-4 which is the norm even for highly selective institutions. Most institutions defend their ED policies with statements that it gives them the best chance to assemble a diverse set of students from different backgrounds and personalities to make up a well-rounded class. It is true that colleges employ ED as a mechanism to reward those students who truly aspire to attend their institution as against rolling out admissions to students based on hairline distinctions and without any idea of who amongst them will eventually enroll. High School counselors on the other hand take a dim view of ED almost without exception.

​

​

Making the decision on ED

​

For you to consider ED, the following have to be true at a minimum.

• You have clearly identified your top choice and are firm about your selection of college.

• You have taken a challenging set of courses, have done well and have strong academic credentials through grade 11. This is important as your senior year grades will not be available when colleges review your early application.

• You have planned well and can make sure that you are able to submit a compelling as well as thoughtful application before the early cycle deadline.

​

Alternatively, you may not want to consider ED if the following are true...​

• Your grades are on an upward trend, (your junior year grades aren’t the greatest) and you expect to do better in your senior year. This is likely to be true for many international students.

• You are taking (or retaking) standardized exams and expect to do well in them and believe that it will help strengthen your application or maybe you are working on a significant project or activity and expect that to help your application. This indicates that you are not fully ready and hence will not be able to send in a compelling application package during the ED cycle.

​

Irrespective of the parameters and the process you use, there is no room for doubt as it is a binding commitment. If you are struggling with the decision about whether to apply ED, it is a strong indicator that you should refrain from applying ED, and would be better served by applying RD.

​

In summary, ED benefits colleges more than you. Think of it as you have made the decision on your choice of college before the college makes the decision on you as a student.

​

​

​

College & Me is a series of articles featuring useful information about College Admissions for undergraduate and graduate degree programs in US colleges.

​

​