HOW TO MAKE THE ED DECISION

What is ED/EA?

As college application season creeps ever closer, chances are that you've heard of the fabled Early Decision silver bullet amongst all the tips and tricks to help your college applications. If you haven’t—essentially, you sign a binding contract with one college of your choice stating that you’ll enroll if accepted. Early Decision applications are generally due in November (as opposed to the regular January deadlines), and if the college accepts you a month later, then they expect you to send in your deposit. 

In the case that congratulations isn’t the response in your inbox, some institutions offer ED II, or Early Decision II. This is a second round of Early Decision, with applications due January and results coming out February, and this ED II is certainly an option for those students who either weren’t accepted in the first ED round or weren’t ready to apply ED in November. 

In the end, though, it's a binding agreement, which means you can only apply Early Decision to one college, with an extra Early Decision II option for a different college in case the first doesn't work out. This contractual element sets Early Decision apart from Early Action, which, though it often has the same earlier application deadline, is not a binding option and leaves you free to apply EA to as many colleges as you’d like and to commit to whichever acceptance you desire by May 1st.

What are the advantages?

1. ED increases your chances of acceptance. Early Decision may seem like an intimidating decision, but it’s been shown to work in the applicant’s favor, even in the Ivy League. Out of the incoming Class of 2022, Brown accepted 18.9% of its Early Decision applicants, as opposed to 7.4% of its regular applicants, and Cornell accepted a whopping 27.7% of its Early Decision pool, compared to the 12.3% of regular applicants who were accepted. The idea is that colleges view an Early Decision applicant as truly wanting to attend their institution rather than simply considering the college as one among many they’re considering. 

2. ED can reduce the stress of applying for colleges. If you're accepted to your preferred college through Early Decision or Early Action, you're free from the rest of college application stress—and months in advance! You won't have to worry about applying to other colleges, meeting submission deadlines, or waiting antsily for application responses. 

3. ED gives you more time between application season and your first year in college. These extra months between the day you get accepted to your ED college and your first day as an undergraduate are valuable time. You can finish your senior year strong, of course, or pick up some hobbies, crossing items off your bucket list. You can also do more research into your committed college, looking into campus life and course load, which allows you to better prepare for the transition from high school to your college career. You can plan a campus visit if you haven't already, or you can meet with a current student or alum and get the less-circulated details about your future school. Whereas regular decision applicants would have to split their attention between many potential colleges, you can focus your adjustment period on your one college.

Despite the overwhelming advantages, however, Early Decision is not an easy decision, and certainly not one to take lightly. Before you decide to apply Early Decision, whether to get into your dream school or simply to take advantage of the higher acceptance rate, check yourself against the following criteria:

What factors should I use to decide which school to ED at? 

1. You fit the college’s freshman admission profile. Early Decision will certainly bump up your chances of getting in, but it is by no means a miracle worker. Before you decide to apply Early Decision to a college, check the statistics of its past or incoming freshmen—SAT and ACT scores, high school GPA, the works—and see where you place in comparison. Of course, fitting the admissions profile by no means makes or breaks an acceptance, but fundamentally, the profile does serve as a framework of the college’s selectivity. So while you don't necessarily need to nail every bullet point on the list, you should at least be within reach to take full advantage of your Early Decision application. ED may certainly be a boon to your acceptance chances, but you wouldn’t want to waste its benefit on a college with a selectivity you don’t fulfill. Choose your Early Decision school wisely! Use Early Decision as an extra push towards a college that matches your qualifications, rather than as a hopeful trump card for a college beyond your personal stats.

2. The Naviance scattergrams from your high school look promising. Naviance is a college readiness information base that many high schools use to view their school’s historical data and help students evaluate their college acceptance odds. The program's scattergrams show the college application history of students to a specific college from your specific high school, every acceptance, denial, and waitlist. These scattergrams are graphed according to each students' GPA and standardized test scores, so you can use Naviance to check how you stand in comparison to other students from your own high school—if your numbers are better than typical accepted applicants from your school, then your chances of getting into that college rise, and ED/EA may be a smart route for you!

3. You’re certain of the financial aid the college can offer you. If you apply Early Decision and are accepted, you won’t be able to compare financial aid offers the way you would for regular decision acceptances. Yes, the times don't line up—financial aid packages are typically made available in March, whereas Early Decision results come out at least a month earlier (December for ED I, February for ED II). But ultimately, the binding aspect of Early Decision restricts you from laying out your differing financial aid offers from various colleges and choosing the one that best benefits you. If you apply Early Decision to your dream college and are accepted, but you don't like the financial aid they offer you, unfortunately, you're stuck. Consider your personal financial needs and make sure that your desired college can and will fulfill them before you apply Early Decision there.

4. You’re certain that it’s your dream college, whether it's for its programs or its school culture. Ultimately, this is what it all boils down to—given the chance, you would go to this college above all others. Some applicants feel ambivalent or unsure about a college, yet they apply Early Decision simply to leverage their changes somewhere. While Early Decision does have a higher acceptance rate, and while it does, if successful, allow students to finish the college application process months early, the thought process should not be one of all-or-nothing. If there's an ounce of uncertainty in your head, do more research! Are there specific programs or clubs this college offers that you want to take advantage of? Do you really resonate with the college's culture, traditions, and community? How would you fare with the college's location? Don’t apply Early Decision just for the sake of applying Early Decision—since it’s a binding agreement, if you’re accepted, there’s no room for regrets. On the other hand, if you truly want to send an earnest, powerful message to a college that it is your first choice, then Early Decision is the choice for you.

Early Decision, despite its benefits, is not an all-purpose boost to your application; it’s a college application tool to be used wisely. Do your research, and double-check both your suitability and preference for a college before applying Early Decision. In the end, if everything checks out, and you’re raring to attend that one college of your dreams, then Early Decision is perfect for you!