Can You Apply For College Early

What Early Admission Plans Do Your Target Schools Offer

Sometimes you don’t get much of a decision in terms of whether to apply early action or early decision. Most colleges and universities offer just one of the two. Some schools, however, including Northeastern University and the University of Virginia, offer both early action and early decision plans.

Early Action Vs Regular Decision: Pros And Cons

Not sure whether to apply to college Early Action or Regular Decision? A high school senior offers the pros and cons of both admission options.

As senior year of high school approaches, students may begin to wonder what type of application they should submit when applying for colleges. What? You didnt know there was more than one way to apply to college? Options vary from Regular Decision to Early Action to Early Decision. Whats the difference, and why does it matter? All options arent going to be perfect for you, so heres what I have come to know about these options. Hopefully, this will help you discover which options is best for you and make your college admission planning a little bit easier!;

Fact #: You Should Wait To Apply If Your Application Will Be Stronger For Regular Decision

If you are trying to boost your GPA, waiting to submit your college applications until grades from the first semester of your senior year are available might be the right choice for you. You also may be retaking the SAT or ACT, and will want to wait until the scores are available to report a potentially higher score to your chosen colleges. Another situation where utilizing extra time would be beneficial is if you have not done enough research on potential colleges. You may not be well informed on the schools to which you are applying. Make sure you dont waste your time and money applying to schools you are not actually interested in.

See if it makes sense rather than trying to cram something in thats not going to reflect well on you, said Pfeiffer, theres no point in sending the application fee if its only to receive a rejection.

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The Benefits Of Applying Early

For a student who has a definite first-choice college, applying early has many benefits besides possibly increasing the chance of getting in. Applying early lets the student:

• Reduce stress by cutting the time spent waiting for a decision.
• Save the time and expense of submitting multiple applications.
• Gain more time, once accepted, to look for housing and otherwise prepare for college.
• Reassess options and apply elsewhere if not accepted.

When Is Early Admission For Colleges

Regardless of the type of early admission plan you’re applying under, you will have to start the application process a few months earlier than most applicants and complete your standardized tests no later than October. Generally, colleges set early admission deadlines in November and December, but some colleges have deadlines as early as mid-October. It’s not uncommon for colleges to offer two early decision or early action deadlines a few weeks apart.;

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I Want To Take A Gap Year

If this sounds like you, when do you apply for college? Actually, your timeline might still involve applying senior year. Lots of schools allow you to defer your admissions decision for a year. Deferring your admissions decision means you would still apply by an early or regular deadline, or rolling admissions, and then if you got accepted, you’d defer your enrollment for one academic year.

You might be thinking that you want to travel and then figure out where to go to college. This could be a good option too, but remember that your deadlines might still be in January. That means you’ll still need to have your SAT scores finalized, letters of recommendation gathered, and essays written throughout the fallpossibly while you’re traveling the world!

If applying to colleges while youre traveling doesnt sound like the plan for you, remember this: Not all that much time will have passed since high school, so it could be a lot easier to get your application materials collected while you’re still in the swing of school and used to being a student.

If you’ve been out of school already for a year or two, then that’s a different story.

Should I Apply Early Decision To College

Prepared students with a single first choice college may consider applying early decision. Early decision is bindingmeaning if you apply and are accepted early decision to a college, you are expected to go there, with almost no exception.

There are a lot of reasons students apply this way. Many believe its easier to be accepted early decision than regular decision. Others just want the college application process over with as quickly as possible.

But the choice shouldnt be taken lightly. Keep these things in mind as you decide if youll apply early.

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Every College Gets To Choose Their Own Recommendation Requirements You Can Find More Details On Each College’s College Information Page

Inviting and Assigning Recommenders

In general, each college has their own recommendation requirements. For example, one college may need two teacher recommendations. Some colleges may not want any teacher recommendations. Colleges can also determine what kinds of other recommenders they want. Some may allow for any recommender type, whereas others only allow an employer recommendation.

What Are The Drawbacks Of Applying Early

• If you are accepted early decision, you cannot change your mind about attending an institution.
• If you are accepted early decision, you will not get a chance to compare your financial aid package with those offered to you by other institutions.
• Committing to early decision, early action, and single-choice early action applications can put pressure on you to make a decision on where to apply before youve explored all your options.
• If you are not accepted at your early decision, early action, and single-choice early action schools, you still have time to apply to other colleges. However, you will have to do it faster than if youd applied regular decision from the beginning.
• If your grades drop during your second semester of senior year, colleges may rescind your admissions offer.

Remember, you are not obligated to apply early to any schools. This is an option if you have a dream school and know you wont regret committing early or if you are pretty confident that theres one school youd like to attend over your other options . If you need more time to make decisions, weigh your options, and complete your applications, there is no harm in applying regular decision to every school on your list.

Page last updated: 05/2019

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Is There An Advantage To Submitting College Applications Early

Youve probably heard about different timelines for applying to college. Some of you may even be considering applying through an early action or early decision program, where your application would be due a couple months before many regular decision deadlines. But, have you ever wondered if you should submit your regular decision application early? Would there be any advantage to submitting your application well before the actual deadline?

In this post well look deeper at application timelines, and discuss the few instances in which you might want to submit an application well before the deadline. Keep reading to find out more!

What Are The Pros Of Applying Restrictive Early Action

The pros of applying to an REA/SCEA program is that if accepted, students can put the college application process behind themallowing them to focus their energy on preparing for college, and alleviating the stress and uncertainty of waiting to hear back from their dream school. Colleges like REA/SCEA applicants because theyre able to single out students who are truly interested in attending their institution; because of this, admission rates are higher for students who apply early. Keep in mind, the early applicant pool also contains the strongest candidates, which gives early admission rates a boost too.

Restrictive early action/single-choice early action lets students hear back from their first-choice school early and gives them the opportunity to compare cost, financial awards, and visit the school before committing.

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Sometimes Writings Essays Can Feel Like The Biggest Part Of Your Application With A Little Bit Of Planning Organizing And Drafting We Can Help You Make This Task More Manageable

As you work on your applications you can find essays or short answer questions in three sections:

Colleges can either make the personal essay optional or required. In the writing section of your Common App tab, you will see a table that lists each college’s requirements.

Many colleges include short answer questions or essay prompts within this section. You can find specific information about each college’s individual writing prompts here.

Some colleges use a separate writing supplement. Not all colleges have a writing supplement. Some colleges only request this supplement based on how you answer other questions. You can find more information about writing supplements on the Dashboard or your My Colleges tab.

Think Carefully Before Applying Early Decision

The most restrictive early admission plan is early decision. If you apply under early decision and you are admitted, you must attend that college and withdraw all other applications. There is only one exception: If the school does not meet your financial aid need, you are free to decline admission and apply to other colleges.

At some colleges, early decision acceptance rates are higher than regular decision acceptance rates. The admission boost may be worth it if you are absolutely positive that you would attend the school if admitted. If you’re not sure, applying for a binding early decision can be a mistake. If getting substantial financial aid is critical, you might be better off applying regular decision so you can compare and negotiate aid offers before choosing a college.

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Whats In It For The College

With ED, this answer is obviousthe institution gets to chalk up a surefire member of their freshman class and can worry a tiny bit less about their yield rate come springtime. With EA, an admitted applicant is under no obligation to attend. However, data shows that those admitted via non-binding EA are often more committed to the university and are ultimately more likely to enroll than someone admitted in the regular round . Thus, EA does not provide the institution with anything near the level of benefit gained through ED, but it does offer them a minor edge in the quest to fill their freshman class with qualified, likely-to-enroll applicants.

What Is Restrictive Early Action When Applying To College

For some accomplished high school students hoping to attend a prestigious university, restrictive early action , also called single-choice early action , offers an excellent way to demonstrate ones commitment to a particular college. Keep reading to find out more about restrictive early action, its pros and cons, and learn which schools offer REA.

Want to know your chances at the schools youre applying for?;Calculate your admissions chances right now and understand your odds before applying.

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The Pros And Cons Of Applying Early Decision / Early Action

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We wrote a post a while back explaining the different ways you can apply to college early decision / early action. In it, we touched on the major benefit of early application: You are up against a smaller pool of applicants. But theres more to early application than that. You need to weigh the pros and cons carefully against what type of person you are.

What Schools Offer Single Choice Early Action

The list of colleges offering REA/SCEA is smallthe program is available only at Boston College, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, and Yale University. Each institution has its own guidelines and rules for students applying to these programs; consult with their admissions departments to better understand the limitations.

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. Well also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. to get started!

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Myth #: All Colleges And Universities Use The Same Early Action Processes

This is where things get tricky and you will have to do your research. There are multiple modes of early action, which vary by school. For example, a state school like CU Boulder uses a simple early action model, where there are two application deadlines: early action and regular decision. Early action at CU is non-binding, but at nearby University of Denver, a private school, there are four application options, two of which are binding. Make sure you understand the application rules of each college youre applying to before you accidentally jeopardize your application by violating restrictions.

Generally, the more selective or private an institution is, the more extensive and strict application policies are. These universities assume they will be higher on your wish list, so they can afford to make these types of restrictions. On the other hand, public, state schools that tend to be less exclusive have more consistent rules when it comes to early action. There are many state schools that are highly selective, yet the application model is much less extensive. University of California system schools have a acceptance rates as low as 16 percent, but most do not offer any early action processes. Other state schools that do offer early action tend to adopt plans similar to CU Boulder.

What Does Regular Decision Mean

Regular Decision is the regular application deadline, usually Jan. 1. Apply Regular Decision means you are not applying in the early round, and you will receive your admission decision in the spring usually around late-March into early-April. The Regular Decision pool tends to be larger as this is the general applicant pool for the upcoming year, and often the admit rate is lower in Regular Decision round compared to the Early Decision or Early Action round because of the volume of applications being considered.

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Should I Apply Early Action

The average applicant is fully-aware of Early Decision as a card to play in the admissions game. In that arrangement, each party makes a concessionyou, the applicant give up your free-agency status, and the college, in many cases, grants a borderline candidate slightly better odds at receiving an acceptance letter.

Early Action, the lesser-explored early-round option, is a not as a straightforward of a transaction; it is less of quid pro quo than Early Decision. The applicant doesnt give up anything and neither does the school. It is a maneuver where each side gains a slight advantage, which means it is certainly worth exploring. In fact, while a more subtle move than ED, applying Early Action may just be the perfect strategy to employ with an eye toward gaining an admissions edge at the school of your dreams.

Early Decision Schools: Complete List Of Ed Colleges

College Admissions , College Info

Did you know that early decision isn’t necessarily early? “Binding decision” might be a better name for it, since some schools now offer “early” decision deadlines in January as well as in November.

Either way, applying early decision is a big commitment. If you apply this way, you should be totally sure you want to attend that school. Let’s review the pros and cons of early decision and look at all the schools that currently offer early decision admission.

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Does Applying Early Improve Your Chances

Colleges will tell you that they use the same standards, if not higher standards, when admitting students through their Early Action and Early Decision programs. On one level, this is probably true. The strongest, most interested students tend to apply early. Students who don’t make the cut will often be moved into the regular admission pool, and the admission decision will be deferred. Students who clearly aren’t qualified to be admitted will be rejected rather than deferred.

Despite what colleges say, the actual admission numbers show that your chances of being admitted are significantly higher should you apply through an Early Action or Early Decision program. This table of Ivy League data for the class of 2023 makes this point clear: