Early action (EA) and early decision (ED) plans can benefit students.
Early action (EA) and early decision (ED) plans can benefit students.
However, only to those students who have considered their college options carefully and have a clear preference in mind.
Parents, teachers, and students should use this information to ensure they know all the required steps for applying early.
There are differences between early action and early decision, and counselors must ensure that their students understand the fundamental differences.
More than 400 colleges have early action or early decision plans; in some cases, they have both. A non-binding option known as single=choice early action is available in some colleges. In this case, applicants may not apply for EA or ED at any other college.
On many occasions, the ED plan has come under fire as unfair to students from families with low incomes. This is because they don’t have the chance to compare financial aid offers. This, in turn, could give an unfair advantage to those applications from families with more financial resources at their aid.
Let’s consider the process and fundamentals of each program:
EA or ED plans are best for a student who:
EA or ED plan is not appropriate for students who:
If you have students interested in applying early, encourage them to fill out the Early Decision Self-Evaluation Questionnaire by NACAC, which is in the Decisions About Early Action and Early Decision handout. It may be a useful idea to share this information with parents too.
Apply early has many benefits for a student with a definite first-choice college. Not only does it increase the chance of getting in, but it also includes the following:
There are some drawbacks to applying early that should be considered when making a decision.
Most colleges don’t notify EA and ED applicants of admission until December 15. Due to the typical deadlines given for applications, this will result in a situation where if a student doesn’t gain a place with the ED college, they will only have two weeks to send in other applications. This may be rushed. You should, therefore, encourage those students who are applying early to prepare other applications as a backup while waiting to receive an admission decision from their first-choice college.
The decision to commit to just one college places a lot of pressure on students to decide before they may have explored all their options.
Those who apply under ED plans will receive offers of financial aid and admission simultaneously. This means they cannot compare financial offers from any other colleges. For those students who are dependent on financial aid, then the decision to apply early may be a risky one.
Some students who find out they have been accepted early may suddenly find they have no reason to “work hard” for the rest of the year as they’ve already achieved their goal. Therefore students who apply early should beware that the college has the power and right to withdraw an offer of admission if second-year grades drop.
Many students feel that applying early means they are competing with fewer students, so their chances of acceptance will increase. However, this isn’t always the case. Colleges will vary in the number of early applicants they admit and in the proportion of the class admitted early.
There may be a higher correlation between stronger profiles among candidates’ options for ED and high admission rates for applicants of ED. To assess whether applying early is the right decision, students should speak with the college-specific admission office about whether the college in question’s admission standards differs between regular and ED applicants.
Some college applications and the Common Application forms need the student who is applying for early decision, as well as the counselor and parent, to sign an ED agreement form that lays out the conditions of the play.
It would be best if you clarified at college planning events and in your school handbook that your policy for early-decision applications is to send the student’s final transcript to one college only. Anything other than this would be considered unethical. Take note: