Early Action (EA) Vs. Early Decision (ED)

Typically, applying Early Action to a college gives you the opportunity to find out if you’re accepted – or not :-( – earlier in the application cycle than the date that most students hear from the school. Basically, you apply early – usually by November 1 or November 15 – months before most colleges’ regular application deadline date. And you typically get your admission decision in early December (what a great holiday gift if you get in!). When you apply to a college though its Regular Decision plan, you usually find out your status in March or April. Wouldn’t you like to know early if you’re in or not?

Early Action is not binding; that is, if you’re admitted, you do NOT have to go (as opposed to Early Decision, which is binding). In fact, applying Early Action often improves your chances for admission, and it certainly makes your senior year in high school much less stressful when you get some earlier admission decisions.

So my best advice is to apply Early Action to all the colleges on your list that offer this option. You can still apply Early Decision to your top-choice college, if that option is offered. And applying Early Decision to that one school that’s your top choice will improve your chances for admission! We want to stress that in the first round of Early Decision, you may apply to only ONE college that way. Yes, you can also apply to ONE college in the second round of Early Decision if you are not accepted during first round, assuming your dream college offers a second round of Early Decision.

BUT – some colleges’ “Early” plans have restrictions… so be careful:

University	Restrictive EA Plan	Comments
Boston College	Can apply to other colleges EA, but  cannot apply to any other college ED	Competitive candidates who are not admitted will be reconsidered for Regular Decision; 20% of those candidates will then be admitted.
Georgetown	Can apply to other colleges EA, but  cannot apply to any other college ED	Admit or defer (no deny); 10-15% of those deferred will eventually be admitted EA acceptance rate very similar to regular-decision acceptance rate
Harvard	Cannot apply early elsewhere in the fall under Single Choice Early Action or Early Decision programs Exception: can apply to public institutions under rolling or other non-binding programs	This policy was reinstated for students applying for admission for fall 2012
Notre Dame	Can apply to other colleges EA, but cannot apply to any other college ED	This is a new policy for student applying for 2015.
Princeton	Cannot apply to an early program at any other private institution Exception: can apply early to any public institution, as long as the decision is nonbinding	This policy was reinstated for students applying for admission for fall 2012