Early Decision, Early Action, Early Decision 2...What are they and what happened in 2021?

ED, EA, REA, ED2—as you’ve been navigating the college application process, you’ve probably seen these acronyms pop up over and over again. They seem pretty fancy: each of these application plans have their own rules, deadlines, and advantages, and some colleges offer some of them but not the others. 

So what are they, exactly? And how do they work in 2021?

Early Decision (ED)

Perhaps the most common of these terms is Early Decision, or ED. True to its name, Early Decision application deadlines are earlier in the application season, usually in November (unlike normal deadlines, which fall around January). An Early Decision application is a binding agreement: if the college accepts the Early Decision applicant, the student promises to attend that college in the fall, regardless of any other admittances that student may receive. Technically, applicants should withdraw any applications to other colleges if they are able to when they hear back from their ED school (generally in December).

In other words, Early Decision is a student’s preemptive commitment to a college, so long as the college accepts them in return. A student cannot back out of an Early Decision acceptance simply to attend another college they like better—colleges only release students from their Early Decision binding agreement if the student has a good, serious reason for being unable to attend, e.g. financial reasons. Because of the binding nature of Early Decision, each student can only submit one Early Decision application. (Some colleges do offer Early Decision 2, which students can use if their Early Decision college rejects them, but we’ll come back to that later.) 

So why is Early Decision so important? While not every college applicant needs to submit an Early Decision application—again, for example, some colleges that may be students' top choices don't offer ED as an option—Early Decision is certainly a powerful tool in the college application process. It's undeniable that ED increases a student's chances of acceptance; Brown University, notably, accepted nearly 16% of its Early Decision applicants into the Class of 2025, compared to its overall Class of 2025 acceptance rate of 5.4%. Colleges view Early Decision applicants more favorably because of the students' demonstrated commitment to their institution—an ED application shows colleges that the student truly wants to attend their school, and that their college is not simply one of many choices but their top choice. Early Decision applications, being binding, also boost colleges' yield rates (or the percentage of admitted students who actually end up attending), which colleges highly value.

Early Decision can be a huge boon to your college application! However, it's not a decision to be made casually. (For help on how to make your Early Decision college choice, check out our article here.)

Early Action (EA)

Next up on the list is Early Action, or EA. Early Action is a more flexible application plan than Early Decision, as Early Action is non-binding. In other words, students are free to apply Early Action to as many colleges as they'd like! The only aspect that differentiates Early Action from Regular Decision is the timing of the deadline; similar to Early Decision, most Early Action deadlines land around early November. Because Early Action lacks the binding aspect of Early Decision, EA doesn’t offer quite the same college admissions advantages to students. However, students who apply EA will hear back from colleges earlier as well, generally around December, which can help students get an early start in figuring out their admissions prospects and planning the latter part of their senior year accordingly.

Restricted/Restrictive Early Action (REA)

This one is a bit more niche. Restricted Early Action, or REA, is similar to Early Action in that it is also non-binding; if a college accepts your Restricted Early Action application, you are not automatically required to attend. However, Restricted Early Action is sometimes also called “Single-Choice Early Action”, and for good reason. While REA is non-binding, applying REA does mean that students cannot apply early (ED or EA) to any other private school. (Students can, however, apply early to a public school or a foreign institution, provided those other applications are non-binding as well.)

In this way, REA allows students to demonstrate exclusive interest to their top-choice college while also retaining flexibility in choosing among their college offers. REA applicants thus benefit from higher acceptance rates, similar to those for Early Decision applicants. Even if a student is accepted in the REA round, they have until May to choose whether or not to commit—the same timing as Regular Decision. Because of this, REA is especially useful for students who, before committing, want to first compare and consider the different financial aid packages that colleges may offer in both the REA and Regular Decision round.

Early Decision 2 (ED II)

Finally, we have Early Decision 2, the counterpart to Early Decision 1. As we alluded to before, Early Decision 2 is a second round of Early Decision. Students can submit an ED II application if they were deferred or rejected from their Early Decision 1 school, or if they didn't apply Early Decision to any school at all. Just like ED I, ED II is a binding agreement (you sign a contract that you’ll attend should they accept you). However, Early Decision II is not quite as "early" as its predecessor, with applications usually due January and results coming out a month later. Only some colleges offer an ED II option, mostly private universities and liberal arts colleges. 

Early Decision 2 largely has the same advantages that Early Decision 1 offers: higher acceptance rates and earlier notification dates (though slightly later than ED I). Students can't apply to the same college for both rounds of Early Decision, but ED II lets students put their strong foot forward for their second favorite, or maybe even a top college whose ED I deadline the student couldn't make in time. Colleges generally don't look at ED II applicants as "lesser" or "less committed" than their ED I counterparts—after all, colleges can't tell whether applicants even applied to a different college ED I, and the binding agreement of an ED II application is a strong indication of commitment!

What Are Some Patterns from 2021?

Early deadlines have been a contentious subject in the past few years as more and more top-ranked universities are filling up larger fractions of their incoming class through early pools, especially Early Decision. Early applicants generally are more interested in the school, and Early Decision admittees are bound to attend, boosting the college’s yield rate significantly. Admission offices know that the ED applicants are often the most competitive and most eager applicants (and oftentimes can pay top dollar to attend because they don’t have to wait to consider multiple financial aid offers), so of course they’re interested in making sure these students attend their school!

Early Decision applications also hit record highs this year. Let’s take one example of this in 2021: the University of Pennsylvania. 1,194 students were offered admission from Early Decision from 7,962 applicants; that’s an ED admit rate of 15%, the lowest ever for Penn. By comparison, the Regular Decision admit rate for Penn this year was about 4.1%. 

When considering the size of the Class of 2025 from Penn, 1,194 students accepted from ED implies that close to 37% of the Class of 2025 was filled in the Early Decision round. Other schools, like Brown University, accepted nearly half of the Class of 2025 in the ED round. 

So the trend of top schools getting more competitive is still evident after COVID. But how has test optional affected admissions? Certain schools are highlighting slight differences in regards to the percentage of admits that applied with a test score compared to applicants who didn’t. Students should certainly take the standardized tests if they are able to, but the differences in admissions numbers aren’t significant enough for students to worry unduly about access to SAT/ACT testing. Wall Street Journal is quoted saying, “The University of Pennsylvania admitted 15% of those who applied in its binding early-decision round. While about two-thirds of the applications included test scores, three-quarters of those admitted did”. Author Jeff Selingo has also mentioned that in his conversations with other admissions officers, they highlight a slight difference within ED applications as well, specifically mentioning numbers for Emory, Colgate, Georgia Tech, and Emory. 

We’ve also seen more schools use early rounds as a way to recruit students of different backgrounds, such as lower income communities, disenfranchised demographics, and other diverse student populations. With the addition of test-optional policies, these top universities are now receiving applications from students that in previous years may have self-selected themselves out but also have great qualifications to attend these selective institutions. 

While these are the main categories of non-Regular Decision college applications, it’s important for students to research the application guidelines for the individual colleges they’re interested in. While Early Decision is a widely offered option, many colleges don’t offer it, and each school offers their own application plans and deadlines. Colleges often change the options they offer as well, so checking for their most recent application guidelines is a must! Whatever the case, college-hopefuls should definitely consider the schools on their college list and plan to make the most of the advantages of early applications. Feel free to request a free consultation with an ILUMIN consultant to get some initial thoughts of how to tackle the early applications and admissions process.