In the middle of each cold December comes a time that, for seniors, will either provide warmth and comfort or add to the season’s frigidity. I’m talking, of course, about the release of Early Decision college application decisions.
There are three major types of college applications: Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision. Regular Decision entails more of a standard application; students typically submit their applications by a deadline around Jan. 1 to hear back in mid-March. This type of application is most often submitted when students don’t have their application materials complete by the early deadlines or an institution does not offer the option to apply early.
Early Action and Early Decision applications (or EA and ED, respectively) require students to submit applications around Nov. 1 to hear their decisions any time between December and February. However, what distinguishes the two types of early applications is that ED is binding; if a student gets accepted to their ED school, they must attend. “I did not apply Early Decision. My top choice did not offer the option to apply Early Decision so I did not want to be bound to a school that I wouldn’t be fully committed to,” senior Max Greenberg said.
Students who decide to ED do so to their “dream school,” or the school they want to attend much more than any others. Students may have had dream schools since they were children, while others may have discovered theirs during the college application process. Senior Bianca Diamond, who was accepted to the University of Miami through Early Decision, said, “I wanted to ED to Miami because it has been my dream school since I was little and I knew that that’s where I wanted to go.”
If a student doesn’t have a dream school, there are still other factors that can determine the decision to apply ED. Students may ED to maximize their chances at a selective college they know they’d be content at. Senior Melissa Lee said, “I applied to Emory University because I really liked the school at the time and I believed it would help my chances.”
Other students applied ED to the college they just liked the most. Senior Morgan Egelston, who was accepted to Washington University in St. Louis through ED, said, “I applied ED to Washington University in St. Louis because it was the only school I visited that I could see myself going to.”
Students may also choose not to apply Early Decision if they don’t feel comfortable paying full price to attend. Schools offer merit scholarships or need-based financial aid to applicants, and applying Early Action or Regular Decision allows students to compare their aid offers from other schools. Since applying Early Decision binds a student to attend a school, if that student is not offered financial aid, they must still pay full price and attend. Greenberg said, “I didn’t want to ED and commit to a school before knowing my other options for financial aid.”
