College Application Series - Part 9: UNDERSTANDING DEADLINES
Early Action, Early Decision, Restrictive Early Action . . . What Does it All Mean?
By Karen Treon
As your student starts exploring the Common App and college websites, they will quickly see that there are different application pathways and in most cases students need to select which they are choosing. Students will see terms such as “Regular Decision,” “Early Decision,” “Early Action” and other similar terms. This can be very confusing to students and parents alike. The purpose of this blog post is to give families an overview of the different deadlines and a better understanding of what it all means. Students should always refer to official college websites for college-specific information, and contact admissions offices with specific questions.
First, let’s clear up the lingo.
Regular Decision (RD):
The deadline by which applications for the next year must be received
Some schools only have one deadline, and this is it
Deadlines range widely, from October to early summer, with most falling between November and January
Early Action (EA):
Deadlines typically fall in the fall, often in November
Students receive decisions earlier, usually in December, and can wait to decide until the late spring
May make students eligible for certain merit aid awards or scholarships
No limitation on other schools to which the student can apply
Not all schools offer EA, and it's optional where available
Students can consider all options and make decisions in the spring
Early Decision (ED):
Very different from EA, despite similar name
Often offered by colleges that admit very few students
Students can apply ED to only one college, and upon applying the student commits to attending if accepted
Requires a signed agreement (through Common App) signed by students, parents, and high school counselor
If accepted, students must decline admission offers from other schools and withdraw pending applications
Applications and acceptances occur before financial aid information is available – there is no opportunity to compare packages
Students should consult their high school counselor before applying ED and give serious consideration to the financial ramifications of ED
Few students are in a position to apply ED. The reality of Early Decision is that applications are due long before students learn what (if any) financial aid they might qualify for. This means that the family is committing to paying the full cost of the college, whatever that cost might end up being. If your student is considering applying Early Decision, they should talk to their high school counselor (who also needs to sign an acknowledgement that the parents and student understand what they are committing to) and parents and students should work together to run estimates on the Net Price Calculator and understand what the cost is likely to be.
Restrictive Early Action (REA):
New, but becoming more common
Allows a student to apply REA to one school, but does not require a commitment to attend if admitted.
This allows students and families to see their full cost before accepting, but it (usually) precludes applying Early Action or Early Decision to other schools.
Again, families need to thoroughly investigate the details of the program and understand the pros and cons of REA.
Some schools have a variation on REA that they call Single Choice Early Action (SCEA).
REA and SCEA are relatively new ideas and the details are different at each school that offers it. Reading the details and asking questions to clear up any uncertainties is vital.
Early Decision II (EDII):
Some schools that offer ED also offer EDII
The terms and requirements are the same as ED, but the deadline is typically in early January.
Some families might be better able to assess financial considerations at this point, and some students might have more clarity about preferred schools, so this can be a good option for some
Applying EDII is the same as ED in that acceptance through these processes eliminates the ability of families to compare financial packages
Some final reminders for all families:
Your student can and should review and manage their deadlines. They should prioritize the Early Action applications (and Early Decision, if applicable) and focus their efforts on those. Families can help with this by encouraging students to strategically spread the work out. For the most part, it is not all due at the same time.
Students should use a tracker (spreadsheet) to track deadlines and status. We have a College Application Tracker that your student can copy, customize, and use in just a couple of clicks.
Remember, most students apply through Regular Decision and Early Action processes. By understanding these options and planning accordingly, students can navigate the application process more effectively and with less stress.
One way parents can help with this process is to do a double check of deadlines and timelines. It might come as a relief to see that many deadlines don’t actually hit until January, and that many colleges don’t require multiple essays. Plan the work . . . and work the plan.
And to add an important P.S., we are answering a couple of commonly asked questions . . .
It is quite likely that either you or your student will hear at some point that “it’s easier to get in if you apply ED” or something along those lines. Is this true? Sort of, sometimes, and barely. Most schools offering ED have very low acceptance rates and that holds true for ED at those schools as well. However, ED processes allow schools to give priority admission to students who can commit to attending the school early in the process and without having additional financial information, with the added benefit of spreading out their admissions workload over a longer period of time. The statistics at many schools show that more students are admitted through ED than Regular Decision, but that doesn’t mean it is easier. The students admitted through ED and RD at most schools have very similar “stats” and application quality.
Your family might also hear that it’s worth trying ED and hoping the financial package works out. Is this a good strategy? Schools offer appeals processes and will often agree to let a student withdraw from the agreement, but this is a difficult process to go through logistically and emotionally. By the time a student exhausts those options they will have missed other application deadlines and likely other merit scholarships as well. It can also take a huge emotional toll if a student has unrealistic expectations about ability to pay, gets into the school they can’t afford, and then has to try to back out. We are not proponents of this strategy.
