What's up peeps, I'm curious about the main differences between Early Decision and Early Action when applying to colleges. As a junior, I'm trying to plan my application strategy, so can someone explain the pros and cons of each and is there an advantage in doing one over the other?
Hello! Both Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) are application plans that allow you to submit your college application earlier than the regular deadline, usually in November. However, there are some crucial differences to note between the two.
Early Decision is a binding action. In other words, if you apply to a school as an ED applicant and are accepted, you're required to withdraw applications from all other schools and commit to that institution. This decision should be made with care and considerable thought, plus a discussion with your parents about financial feasibility. The main advantage of applying ED is that acceptance rates tend to be higher compared to Regular Decision. For instance, on average, applying ED may increase your chances of admission by around 1.6x or can result in a 60% increase in your chances of admission to highly selective schools. But again, the increase varies based on the school.
Contrarily, Early Action is non-binding. You can apply to a college under EA, and if accepted, you're not obligated to attend. You're allowed to apply to multiple schools under EA (unless it's a version called restrictive or single-choice EA, like Yale, Stanford, and Harvard have). You can still apply to other colleges during Regular Decision, and you have until May 1st to make a decision. EA gives you the benefit of receiving an early response without the binding commitment.
In terms of advantage, applying ED or EA does generally boost your chances even when controlling for profile strength, with ED having a stronger effect. However, remember that the ED commitment is binding, and you can only apply to one ED school, so you should only apply ED to your absolute first-choice school. Make sure you've visited the campus (virtually or in-person) and researched it extensively before making this decision.
On the flip side, applying EA can provide you with some flexibility and peace of mind as you'll hear back from colleges earlier in the process but still have the ability to explore other options and compare financial aid packages. Hope this helps, and good luck with your decision!
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