Understanding Early Admission

Applying to college is a long process that involves so many elements. Are you taking the right courses? Are you involved in enough extracurricular activities? How can you get the best recommendation letter? How do you craft an essay that lets colleges know who you are and what you care about? With so many things going on at once, it’s hard to believe that you would want to speed up the process to get everything done months ahead of time. However, a growing trend among students is applying to colleges under an early admission plan. Even with so many students choosing to do this, it is important to understand the different early admission plans and whether or not any of them are the right option for you.

What is Early Admission?

More and more early admission plans have been popping up, but there are three options that are the most common; Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA) and Restrictive Early Action (REA). All three plans typically have application deadlines in early November, and acceptance decisions reach students sometime in December. However, there are important differences between them as well.

ED is binding, meaning if you apply to a school ED, you agree to attend that school and withdraw all other applications if accepted. EA is similar, except it is not binding. If you are accepted to a school, you can choose to commit immediately or wait until the spring to make a decision at the Regular Admission decision deadline. Unlike ED, you can apply EA to more than one school. REA is the same as EA except you may be restricted from applying ED, EA or REA to other institutions. College Board’s College Search is a great resource for finding out which schools offer which early admission options.

The Effect of the Early Admission Trend

While "Early Admissions" is still not the dominant admission trend, colleges and universities are seeing a definite growth in the number of early admission applications they are receiving, and with California's economy still struggling to gain momentum, many California Students are looking to out of state schools driving up the number up of applications across all states.

Why are so many more students choosing to do "Early Admissions"?

Students decide to do EA for a number of reasons, starting with FEAR and ANXIETY. It could be that they are feeling the pressure to apply early, thinking that it will better their chances of getting accepted. What students should consider is it is important to recognize the level of “competition” during the early pool, and what the numbers are applying and the numbers that are accepted.

Students may see higher early acceptance rates as compared to the school’s regular acceptance rates and think that it makes sense to apply early. The reality, though, is that often the students who are in the early pool are extremely talented. This idea allows colleges want to gain access to these students the opportunity to snap them up. Students are confronted and up against some of the best and brightest in the early pool.

If statistics are correct, this data tends to show colleges will accept a higher percentage of applicants applying under an early admission plan than during regular admission. Even if your dream school encourages you to do EAs, this should not be the real reason to choose to apply early. Early Decision, Early Action, and Early Single Action Admissions are not necessarily a bad policies. For some students it is a great choice; for others it is not. EA is not right for everyone, but with the new figures on admissions rates for those applying early, there are going to be a lot of students feel pressured to use as Early Decision card to gain admission.

Students should not apply for Early Decision or under any other early admission plan "just because" they are convinced they’ll have a better shot at being accepted. The Early Decision/Early Action process does not hold a "TRUMP" card that the strategic senior plays in order to win the hand.

Is Early Admission the Right Choice for You?

Early Decision applications are BINDING, meaning that if you are accepted to that school, that is where you are going. This decision is wonderful if, and only IF the school you are applying to the college that is right for you, and that the school is the one that you would choose to attend no matter what.

If you decide the Early Decision approach is right for you, be sure to apply to your other choices, even if it not what you want to do. Prepare your Regular Admission applications as a backup, so you won’t risk becoming overwhelmed right before those deadlines.

For students seeking financial aid, applying Early Decision, keep in mind "Financial Aid". It is not a good idea to apply ED and eliminate your chances to compare financial aid packages and opportunities of different schools, especially if you are in need of financial aid. If weighing offers is what you are really planning to do, then don’t risk being bound to a school with Early Decision Policies.

Applying Early Action or Early Single Action is a great way to get applications turned in early, and still keep your options open in the spring. Another benefit of EA is that by receiving acceptance decisions from schools, you can get a good idea of where you stand in terms of acceptance into similar schools, which can help as you apply Regular Admission. However, you shouldn’t apply early at all if you need to show more of your senior year work to colleges to help your chances.

The college application process comes with enough pressure as it is. Completing college applications requires a large amount of work, so be aware that between the research, writing and follow up, applying to college can be the equivalent to taking an additional course. Doing it early means more work in a shorter period of time, which can impact course work and other activities. While applying early can be beneficial, it should not be a reason to rush into a decision. Talk to your parents and counselor, research colleges and their application options and choose the admission plan that is the best fit for you, and best wishes.