The Spark Admissions Guide to Choosing an Early Decision School

Some colleges and universities offer an Early Decision (ED) application option. Students who apply Early Decision submit their application by a deadline (typically November 1^st) that is earlier than the Regular Decision deadline (typically January 1^st), and they sign a contract binding them to attend that particular college if they are accepted, regardless of other admission offers, merit aid availability, etc. At most schools, Early Decision applicants have a higher admission rate than Regular Decision applicants. This is because there is a 100% chance that they will matriculate at that particular college, which is something that colleges care about considerably.

Because of this contractual agreement, students may only apply to one Early Decision school at a time. However, some colleges offer an Early Decision II round, for students who may have gotten rejected from their Early Decision I school and/or who have decided later in the process to apply ED. Typically Early Decision II applications are due by January 1^stand decisions are released by February 15^th (earlier than Regular Decision applicants will hear). Students who apply in this round will also need to submit all of their Regular Decision applications at the same time as submitting their Early Decision II application.

Schools that offer an Early Action (EA) admission plan allow high school students to apply earlier and get their results earlier, just as they would under Early Decision, but in the case of Early Action, acceptances are non-binding. As such, students can apply EA to as many schools as they like. In addition, many schools that offer Early Action do not announce their decisions until January, so students still need to submit Regular Decision applications. In addition, depending on the school, many students are deferred from the Early Action round, as college admissions officers want to see if they are still interested after ED1 results have come out. Many colleges do not want to “waste” admission on a student who has committed to an Early Decision school.

There is one notable exception to being able to apply to any school as EA, which is that a few highly selective institutions offer Restricted Early Action or Single-Choice Early Action. These options operate more or less like standard Early Action, in that students get non-binding results back more quickly, but they place restrictions on where else the student can submit any EA or ED application. If you are applying ED or EA, be sure to carefully read each school’s rules.

While it is not the right path for all students—particularly those who want to take into account multiple financial aid offers before deciding on the best college for them—Early Decision does have its benefits. First, successful early applicants will lock in their college plans earlier than their peers who are waiting for Regular Decision results. Second, the acceptance rates at many schools are higher for students who apply ED versus those who apply RD. And third, the Regular Decision round has become exceptionally competitive at many selective colleges; even students with exceptional grades, scores, and narratives can be rejected from schools that they think are within reach in the RD round. That is because many colleges practice yield protection measures, wherein a school rejects students who they think will not attend, even if those students are very qualified. Further, in the Regular Decision round, many talented students are rejected simply because the school does not have room for them after taking many students early.

Once you’ve chosen a topic, you can follow these steps to craft a strong personal statement for college:

Step 1: Go through your college list and determine which schools offer Early Decision as an option.

Step 2: Of the schools that offer an ED option, identify the ones that you could see yourself attending without any reservations or hesitations. Where would you be happy and get the best education? If you’re not sure about a school, it’s not a good ED option.

Step 3: At this point, you’ve probably narrowed the list to a handful of options. Now you can get a bit more strategic. First, remove any schools where you feel confident you can gain admission without needing the boost to your profile that applying ED would provide. Second, remove any schools that are very far out of reach for you, as you don’t want to “waste” your ED application on a school that is simply too competitive, even with the ED boost. If you don’t know if your dream school is actually within reach, contact Spark Admissions for guidance.

Step 4: If you still have more than one school remaining at this point, it all comes down to personal preference. Which college is most exciting to you? Which one feels like the absolute best fit for you based upon the distance from home, alumni from your high school who have attended that school, the fit of its academic programs and social atmosphere?

If it’s a tight race between two schools, find out if either school offers an Early Decision II option, as that school might make more sense as a back-up to a school that only offers EDI.

At most schools, apart from the earlier deadline, the actual application for ED applicants is identical to the one that Regular Decision applicants complete. Typically, the only difference is that the student, the parent(s), and a high school guidance counselor must all sign statements that they understand the binding nature of Early Decision, to confirm that the student agrees to attend the school if they are accepted. Please give your school guidance counselor several weeks’ notice of your decision before the ED application is due.

Most colleges and universities release their ED decisions in early-to-mid-December, so keep an eye on your inbox and mailbox after Thanksgiving Break!

If all goes well and your carefully chosen Early Decision school offers you admission, you’ll be done with your college application process well ahead of many of your classmates! However, because that outcome is not guaranteed, you should continue to prepare ALL of your EA, EDII, and RD applications even after you’ve submitted your ED application, in case you need to submit those, too.

Good luck!