Early actions vs Regular decisionAnswered
hi everyone!
I've been having a hard time deciding wheter to apply early or regular decision, because my counselors are telling me to apply early since the ealry acceptance rate is higher than the regular one. They also said that applying early helps to get more scholarships/ apply to more. On the other hand, I heard that you should only apply early if you are really competitive for a school and that unless if you are like really competitve or like really good you shouldn't because you'll probably get deffered. So now, I was wondering which one is truly better? Is it applying ealry action of regular decision? Thanks in advance!
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2 answers
Hi there! So yes, there are benefits to applying EA. Colleges can see that you're really interested in attending their school so (generally) you may have a higher chance of acceptance, especially if you're from out of state and/or applying to a really competitive school. While you may not want to (and it may not be ideal) to apply EA to all your schools on your application list, it can really help you have a higher chance of being accepted since EA students are at a higher priority for review to determine if colleges want to accept you.
My advice is if there's a few schools that you really want to get into but have a lower acceptance rate than shoot for EA and for schools that may be a bit more pricey do EA as well since you may have more scholarship opprotunities since not everyone is applying at once. EA is non-binding, unlike ED, so it's a great chance to show your interest in schools. For colleges that you feel have a less competitive feeling for you to be accepted then go regular decision for those. Split up the schools that you are applying to, don't do all EA and don't do all regular decision, have a good balance of the two. Good luck! :)
You should check if the college you want to go to as a binding early action, which means that if you get accepted from EA, you MUST go to that college. If you are confident about where you want to go and do, I say go for it.
You get more benefits than RA students. If you want to live on-campus, you can choose where you live because it is a first-come-first-serve basis, does allow you to have a higher chance of acceptance, and overall takes the weight and anxiety of applying off your shoulders early.
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Hi! Most times, restricted early action actually just means you can't apply early to other schools, or, for many private schools, other private schools. Early decision is the binding option.