Senior Blue Book

Dougherty Valley High School
Senior Blue Book

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Types of Application Deadlines
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Types of Application Deadlines

Early Decision (ED): Binding! Students sign a contract with the university to promise their enrollment if admitted; therefore applying ED to more than 1 college would be unethical. If accepted, they must also withdraw all other applications.

Early Action (EA): Non-binding; Students apply by the early deadline and receive an admissions decision around Winter Break. Students do not have to commit to the college until National Decision Day on May 1.

Single-Choice Early Action/Restrictive Early Action (REA): Some colleges (Stanford, Harvard) offer this non-binding option, under which applicants may not apply ED or EA to any other colleges.

Regular Decision: Non-binding; Students typically apply early January during the normal admission process, and receive an admissions decision no later than April 1 of their senior year.

Rolling Admission: Students can apply within a large application deadline window. Colleges evaluate applications as they are received, and typically offer an admissions decision within three weeks.

Benefits of Applying Early:
  • Reduces stress by cutting time spent waiting for a decision.
  • Saves time and expense of submitting multiple applications.
  • Student gains more time, once accepted, in looking for housing, applying for scholarships, and otherwise preparing for college.
  • Student can still reassess options and apply elsewhere if not accepted.
Drawbacks of Applying Early:
  • Pressure to decide: Committing to one college puts pressure on students to make serious decisions before they’ve explored all their options.
  • Reduced financial aid opportunities: Students who apply under ED plans receive offers of admission and financial aid simultaneously and therefore will not be able to compare financial aid offers with other colleges. For students who absolutely need financial aid, applying ED may be a risky option.
  • Time crunch for other applications: Most colleges do not notify ED and EA applicants of admission until December 15 or later. Therefore if a student is denied by the ED college, there is limited time to send in other applications by the Regular Decision (RD) deadlines. Prepare other applications as you wait to receive admission decisions from your first-choice college.
Does applying early increase the chance of acceptance?

Many students believe applying early (EA or ED) means competing with fewer applicants and increasing their chances for acceptance. This is not always true. Colleges vary in the proportion of the class admitted early and in the percentage of early applicants they admit.

High admission rates for ED applicants may correlate to stronger profiles among other ED candidates. Students should ask the admission office whether their institution’s admission standards differ between ED and RD, and then assess whether applying early makes sense given their own profile.
Created by Eeshi Uppalapati, class of 2021.