Post by: Dr. Elizabeth Doe Stone
As early application deadlines swiftly approach, we have been fielding lots of questions from students about their application strategies. Does it always make sense to apply early? How much will Early Decision actually help my chances? How can I be sure I’m ready to commit to one school? If you are a high school senior, we are here to tell you with confidence: your best chance of acceptance (with few exceptions) is in the Early Decision admissions round.
Of course, in order to be seriously considered by any college, you need to be in range. This means your scores and grades must meet a school’s basic thresholds before your application is seriously considered. Given the huge number of applicants, you don’t want to “waste” your one Early Decision card at a school that won’t spend time reading the application materials you worked so hard to produce.
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EARLY OPTIONS, DEFINED
We know the early admissions lingo can get confusing, so let’s break down the various early admissions options:
Rolling Admission: Students can submit their application any time within the application period and will typically receive an admissions decision within a few weeks of submission. There is no obligation to attend the school, and students may apply elsewhere under any application plan.
Note: Some schools that offer Rolling Admission include Penn State University, Clemson University, and University of Arizona.
Early Action (EA): This application deadline is usually earlier than other options and students are given a decision about admission a few weeks after they send in their application (many decisions come out in mid-December). Students applying EA may apply elsewhere to as many schools as they like under any application plan. If they are accepted EA, they are not obligated to attend the school.
Note: Some schools, like the University of Chicago and Southern Methodist University, offer both Early Action and Early Decision application options. If this is the case, your odds are still much higher in the Early Decision applicant pool.
Restrictive Early Action (REA): REA is essentially a hybrid of Early Decision and Early Action. REA requires students to submit their applications early and provides them with an admissions decision early, as well. While the student isn’t obligated to go to the school if he or she is accepted, the student is restricted from applying to other schools early. In all instances, the student is prohibited from applying Early Decision.
Note: Stanford University offers this as their only early application option (you can read more here).
Single Choice Early Action (SCEA): Like REA, the school may also prohibit the student from applying to other schools Early Action, unless the alternate school is a public institution.
Note: Yale University offers this as their only early application option (you can read more here).
Early Decision (ED): The Early Decision application deadline is usually November 1 or November 15th and students are given a decision around early to mid-December. Students who apply ED cannot apply elsewhere ED, but may apply to non-binding application plans. Once students are accepted ED, they are obligated to attend the school and must withdraw any applications that they have submitted elsewhere.
Note: Of the eight Ivy League schools, five (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, and University of Pennsylvania) offer Early Decision.
Early Decision II (EDII): Same as above but with a later deadline.
Note: A number of highly selective colleges and universities offer EDII including Bowdoin College, Davidson College, Vanderbilt University, and New York University.
Regular Decision (RD): This deadline (usually in early January) is firm and the final opportunity to submit an application. Applicants can submit under any application plan elsewhere and have no obligation to attend the school if they are accepted. Students will typically receive their admission decision several weeks to months after the application deadline. In the regular decision round, you are competing against the largest applicant pools.
WHY YIELD MATTERS
By applying Early Decision to a particular college, you are making a binding commitment to enroll. This signals your clear interest in that school and, in turn, helps their yield since they know the students they accept will matriculate. Since yield numbers affect an institution’s place in the US News & World Report rankings (see our blog post about college rankings), and other comparable lists, this metric is particularly important to schools who want to maintain or improve their ranking. Yield also helps colleges predict tuition numbers more accurately for financial purposes—in this way, Early Decision is a “win-win” for accepted applicants and for colleges.
THE EARLY APPLICANT POOL
Many students who apply Early Decision are recruited athletes or other “hooked candidates.” It’s a common misconception that these candidates make the odds of acceptance more challenging for an “unhooked” applicant. In fact, it’s often the opposite. A strong academic student with no “hook” may actually stand out a bit more in this applicant pool since they will help bolster the average GPA and ACT/SAT scores for that round of acceptances. In other words, if the admissions office knows they are accepting a recruited football player with lower scores from your region, they might look more favorably on your academic record, perfect ACT score, and scholarly interests.
Even more than this, however, waiting to apply in the RD admissions round means you will be competing against the many students who were deferred or rejected in the early round from their top-choice school and then panic—applying to schools where they are more comfortably in range. This means that, at a school that might have given you a chance in the early round, you are now suddenly out of contention. Additionally, more underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students apply in the RD round. Since colleges are making a concerted effort to prioritize these students and improve the diversity of their incoming class, the odds for non-hooked candidates in the RD round are even worse than the admissions data would lead you to believe.
CREATE COMPELLING ESSAYS
In the early admission round, admissions officers have the gift of TIME. Last year, the University of Pennsylvania received 7,962 applications under the first-choice Early Decision Program for the class of 2025. Of these, 1,194 students were offered admissions (50% of the enrolling class).
In the regular decision round, on the other hand, UPenn received 48,371 applications. These record-breaking numbers make it impossible for an admissions officer to thoroughly consider each application and thoughtfully read each essay to the same extent.
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THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
As you consider the early application admissions boost, it can be helpful to see the raw data from this past admissions cycle:
- Last year, Brown University admitted 16% of applicants in the Early Decision round, which represents 52% of their incoming class.
- Columbia University accepted 10% of ED applicants, or 46% of their incoming class.
- Dartmouth College accepted 21% of applicants ED, or 49% of their incoming class.
- The University of Pennsylvania accepted 15% of ED applicants, 49% of their incoming class.
- Vanderbilt University accepted 18% of ED applicants, compared to only 7% RD.
- Williams College accepted 33% of ED applicants vs. 8% RD.
- It’s also worth comparing the varying acceptance rates at schools that offer multiple application options. At Northeastern University, the ED acceptance rate was 53%, the EA acceptance rate was 20%, and the RD acceptance rate was 18%. The difference between ED and EA is also apparent at the University of Virginia, where the ED acceptance rate was 33% vs. a 21% acceptance rate in the non-binding EA admissions round.
- At Yale University, the SCEA acceptance rate was 11% vs. 5% in the RD round.
Application Review Program
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SUBMIT WITH CONFIDENCE
Not sure if you’re ready to click SUBMIT? Or are you looking for additional feedback on your application materials before you commit to an Early Decision school? With our Application Review Program, our experts will provide a comprehensive review of your entire application package, including essays, for one top-choice college, analysis and counsel on application strategy, and follow up with a 1-hour post-review Zoom or phone call.
What are you waiting for?
Liz graduated Magna Cum Laude with high honors from Dartmouth College and earned her MA and PhD in Art History at the University of Virginia, where she taught undergraduate courses, earned the All-University Graduate Teaching Award, and received a Fulbright Research Grant.
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