Chapter 4: Decoding Early Applications
Written by Kaashvi, Dartmouth College
Welcome back to The College Countdown! For those of you who are joining us for the first time today and aren’t familiar with me, I am Kaashvi, your friendly neighborhood college admissions enthusiast and your guide through this series. If you’re a returning reader, I hope that after reading the last two articles, you’ve been able to get a head start on making your college list and figuring out what you’re looking for in colleges. Either way, I am ecstatic that you’ve decided to join us for this wild ride.
In today’s episode, we are decoding the different rounds of early admission, helping you understand all options available to you for applying early and decide whether to apply Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), Restrictive Early Action (REA) or Regular Decision (RD). With so many choices that sound very similar, the question that likely popped up in all of your minds is: what is the difference between them, and how do you choose the right one for yourself? I’ll help you answer both of these questions throughout this article.
Most colleges in the United States offer two main rounds of admission, either early and regular. Early admissions can be further divided into multiple types and that will be the focus of our piece today. Let’s break it down.
Early Decision (ED): This option is binding, meaning you can only sign an early decision contract with one school. If you’re accepted, you’re bound to withdraw all of your other applications and enroll at your early decision school. Your parents and school counselor also sign the agreement, promising to hold their end of the bargain if you get in. ED deadlines are usually between November 1 and November 15, though some schools do have even earlier deadlines. Some schools like Bowdoin and Emory also offer two rounds for ED admissions and these applications are due with the regular round applications by early January. This gives students an opportunity to provide additional grades from senior year, tour and research schools and more time to perfect those essays.
Since this agreement is basically a commitment in advance to attend the college if you are accepted, it is also an indication to the college that their institution is your #1 choice. Even though it isn’t a legal document, the ED agreement is taken very seriously by schools and breaking it absolutely has consequences.
Early Action (EA): Unlike early decision, early action is non-binding. You are free to apply to multiple colleges through early action, and if you’re accepted, you’re not obligated to attend. Most public universities offer this plan of admission. These applications are also due in November. The biggest advantage of EA is that you hear back from your schools sooner and if you get into one of your top choices early, you can have a stress-free winter break and the rest of your senior year. University of Southern California and Georgia Tech only offer merit scholarships to students who apply early, so that may also be a thing to consider.
Restrictive Early Action (REA): Offered by schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford, REA is also non-binding but there’s a catch. If you’re applying REA to any of the schools that
offer it, it effectively prevents you from applying EA or ED to any other places, except for public universities or schools that require an early application for merit consideration. REA deadlines are also in November.
Regular Decision (RD): This is what I call the all-in round where you can apply to as many colleges as you want and are not bound to attend any of the places you’re admitted to. The deadlines for this round range from mid-October to mid-January. The decisions for this cycle start being released by the end of March.
I know I said there are only two main rounds of admission, but there’s one more type that is often neglected.
Rolling Admissions: With this cycle, colleges review applications as they come in, rather than waiting until a certain deadline to review all applications at once. This means the sooner you apply, the sooner you’ll hear back on your decision. However, the downside is that once all their spots are filled, they’re gone.
Now that we’ve outlined all the different options available to you, let’s move on to the second part of the question: how do you know which one is the way to go? Is it worth it to apply ED to a school and not have the chance of comparing other offers? Or should you take the gamble and wait to polish your applications and send them all out in the regular round? Making this choice depends on three crucial ingredients: your personal readiness, your financial situation and the college’s policies on the different action plans.
You. To figure out if ED is the correct move for you, start by asking yourself a few questions. Is this school really your top choice? Are you ready to submit your application early with all the required components? Would you be okay with missing out on other acceptances if you get into your ED school, like giving up a potential acceptance to MIT if you get into Columbia ED? Have you done your homework and researched the school in-depth, beyond just their glossy admissions brochure? After talking to current students, do you think you could be happy at this school? Are your grades, test scores and extracurricular activities similar to those of previously accepted students? And finally, does the college have a strong program for your major that will help you achieve your future goals?
If you answered no to any of these questions, it might be worth reconsidering if ED is the best option for you. Remember, early decision is a big commitment and you want to be absolutely sure before you lock yourself into it. If you’re randomly applying ED to a top school because you think you have a higher chance of getting in, it’s important to pause and reassess your priorities, especially considering a lot of these top schools don’t offer a significant advantage from applying early.
Finances. ED definitely impacts the aid offers you receive and it's not always in the way you might expect. Even with colleges that claim to meet 100% of the student’s demonstrated need, they are the ones deciding what that need actually is, not you. And trust me, they have some surprising ideas of what you can afford. Unexpected financial curveballs like these can turn what might have seemed like your dream college into a financial nightmare. It’s like thinking you’re
going on a budget-friendly road trip only to find out halfway there that your car needs a major repair. Suddenly, those higher odds of acceptance don’t look so appealing when you're worried about how you’re going to pay for it all. On top of it, merit aid is rarely offered to ED applicants. Since they’re already committed to attend, there is less of an incentive for colleges to sweeten the deal. It is worth noting that this advice applies particularly to upper-middle class students.
Running a net-price calculator (NPC) to understand what you’re expected to pay and keeping a record of the results can be a lifesaver down the road for renegotiating the aid you receive or even for requesting a release from the ED agreement.
College policies. Some colleges (cough, cough UChicago) are head over heels for ED while others (Penn) are more lukewarm to it. But how are you supposed to know which category your school falls into? Well, it’s all in the numbers and using the Common Data Set (CDS) to figure out what percentage of the incoming class is filled during the early round can give you a clear picture of which schools heavily value ED and which do not. Comparing the acceptance rates between the ED and the RD rounds can also uncover some jaw-dropping differences.
Talking about this decision with trusted adults and a school counselor can be like having a compass in the wilderness of college admissions. They’ve seen it all, from the triumphs to the pitfalls and having their assurance and insight along the way can help you make your decisions with complete confidence.
As a final takeaway, remember that your college journey is uniquely yours. Trusting your instincts and gut will make the process feel a lot more natural and that is the only way to not have any ‘what ifs’ down the line. Thank you so much for joining me today and stay tuned for the next article in the series where we will be discussing the next element of your college applications: framing your extracurricular activities. Until next time, keep dreaming big!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hey there, college-bound crew! I’m Kaashvi, an undergraduate student at Dartmouth College from India. I’m the brains (and heart) behind the College Countdown series here at The Ivy Institute and I am stoked to be your guide through this process.
So, a little bit about me: I was a STEM kid through and through in high school and all my classes were the highest level ones offered at my school and graduated at the top of my class for three consecutive years. Outside of class, I was involved in activities that let me nurture my love for inventiveness, responsibility and storytelling. From designing a vehicle to aid oil spill cleanup to working as an elected representative for the youth advisory council to volunteering at the local deaf school—I devoted a lot of my time to projects that were true to my values.
When I’m not typing away at my keyboard, dishing out college advice to people in my inbox and on this blog, you can catch me exploring new hiking trails, whipping up some questionable (but oddly delicious) desserts at my bakery or getting lost in a gripping mystery novel.
As an international student, the application process wasn’t just about finding a spot at a prestigious university but also about finding a place that felt like a second home. Now that I’ve made it out alive to the other end (with a boatload of stories to tell), I'm here to spill all the tea on how you can do the same. With some guidance and a whole lot of oversharing, together we’ll crush this admissions game like absolute pros.
Catch you on the flip side,
Kaashvi
