What is the difference between early action and early decision?

Early decision plans are binding: A student who is accepted as an ED applicant must attend the college. Early action plans are nonbinding: Students receive an early response to their application but do not have to commit to the college until the normal reply date of May 1.

Is early action better than early decision?

The obvious advantage of early action over early decision is the opportunity it gives you to apply to, and ultimately compare financial aid packages from several schools. If you are accepted early decision, you risk missing the admission deadlines of other schools while you wait for your award package to arrive.

Does early action increase chances?

Admission odds

Generally speaking, early action programs do not significantly increase your child's odds of getting into colleges, especially at highly selective schools. They simply allow your child to find out sooner whether or not they've gotten in.

Is early decision really an advantage?

Some colleges will say that students have a better chance of admission if they apply early using early decision, but it really depends upon the applicant pool and how selective the college is overall.

What happens if you apply early decision and don't go?

Early decision colleges may reach out to other schools to let them know you broke your agreement, which can reflect poorly on your applications. You'll also lose any deposit money you put down.

How College Admissions Works - Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Admissions & all the rest

Can I reject early decision if I can't afford it?

Fortunately, students can usually turn down an ED offer if the financial aid is insufficient. “If the net cost of the college is completely unaffordable, you can ask the admissions committee to release you,” said Shirag Shemmassian, founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting.

Is it a bad idea to apply early decision?

Experts recommend only applying early decision if you have a clear top-choice school. Senior year is a busy time for high school students, especially those planning to attend college.

How many colleges should you apply too?

In general, most students apply to between 8 and 12 colleges. This is a good range to aim for, provided that the applications you submit represent a broad variety of colleges. Ideally, you want to apply to at least two safety, four target, and two reach schools.

What happens if you apply early decision to two colleges?

You can apply early decision to only 1 college. If the college accepts you and offers enough financial aid, you must go to that college. That's why these plans are referred to as “binding.”

Is regular decision worse than early action?

There are several advantages to applying for regular decision over early action or early decision. With regular decision, you have more time to research and compare schools, so you are more likely to find the best fit for you.

What is the downside of early action?

Drawbacks of Early Action and Early Decision

Downsides might be: Added pressure to apply right away. If you're not confident in the school you want to attend, early action and early decision don't make sense for you.

What are the cons of early action?

Cons: The binding nature can complicate financial aid negotiations and it limits your flexibility because you would be required to decline admissions offers from other schools.

What are the disadvantages of applying early action?

Senioritis: Applicants who learn early that they have been accepted into a college may feel that, their goal accomplished, they have no reason to work hard for the rest of the year. Early-applying students should know that colleges may rescind offers of admission should their senior-year grades drop.

Do you get more financial aid if you apply early action?

Reduced financial aid opportunities: Students who apply under ED plans receive offers of admission and financial aid simultaneously and will not be able to compare financial aid offers from other colleges. For students who absolutely need financial aid, applying early may be a risky option.

Do colleges look at senior grades for early action?

Keep earning strong grades

Many selective universities now actually require the submission of one's first quarter senior year grades with early applications.

Is it smart to apply early action?

In other words, by applying Early Action, you'll find out the details of your packages sooner, so you can begin steering your research toward additional scholarships or setting up appointments with financial aid counselors to discuss next steps.

How many early action schools should I apply to?

In most cases, you can apply early action to as many schools as you want. Early action is a non-binding application, and you're free to turn down any school you apply early action to and get accepted by. However, a small number of schools have restrictive early action policies.

Can you get rejected from early action?

If you receive a rejection notice from the college you applied to via Early Decision or Early Action, the best thing you can do is to focus on moving forward.

Is it OK to only apply to two colleges?

Most experts recommend you apply to a couple of reach schools, several schools you feel are a great match for you academically and otherwise and a couple of safety schools.

Can applying to too many colleges hurt your chances?

The College Board recommends that high school seniors narrow down their application list to five to eight schools. It's okay to stray a little outside this range, but as a general rule of thumb you should aim to reach those numbers because sending more than ten applications can have drastic consequences.

Is 12 colleges too many to apply to?

If you do the necessary research before you apply, you should be able to limit your list of schools to 15 or fewer. Honestly, anything more than 10 feels excessive to me, but I understand that some students are capable of applying to more and want to give themselves more options.

Is 13 colleges too many to apply to?

Students and those who support them often ask how many colleges they should apply for. As with nearly everything in college admission the unsatisfying answer is, “it depends:” the answer could range between 5 to as high as 15. However, some students will only apply to one school.

Who should not apply early decision?

You're strongly considering other schools

It's completely possible to be in love with multiple schools, but you can't apply to more than one for early decision. You should, however, apply to other schools via regular decision if you don't get accepted to your early decision school.

What happens if you apply early decision and get accepted?

Remember, early decision is binding, it is contractual. You can only apply early decision to one school because if you are accepted to that school, you have contracted to attend that school upon admission.

Does early decision hurt financial aid?

An early decision application can boost a student's odds of getting into their dream school, but it also means they lose the chance to compare and negotiate financial aid offers from multiple schools.