What is 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. If you are thinking of applying early—either early decision, early action, or restrictive early action—ask yourself these four questions and discuss them with your parents, high school guidance counselors, or college prep advisors:.

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The content on CollegeData. We recommend that you refrain from acting or not acting on the basis of any content contained on CollegeData. We will not be liable for the content on CollegeData. Share: Applying early to college under an early decision or early action plan offers advantages as well as drawbacks. When is Early Admission for Colleges? What are the Potential Downsides of Applying Early? If you are thinking of applying early—either early decision, early action, or restrictive early action—ask yourself these four questions and discuss them with your parents, high school guidance counselors, or college prep advisors: Am I happy with my grades and test scores?

If not, you may be better off using the fall semester to improve them and applying during the regular admissions cycle. Often the only exception is if the school's financial aid package fails to meet your needs. Most admitted students send in their nonrefundable deposits well before May 1. Additionally, you are required to withdraw any applications you have at other colleges and may not apply to more schools. If you're rejected, you may get deferred to the regular applicant pool, allowing you to be considered for admission under a nonbinding plan.

Most early decision rejections, however, are final. Here are some questions to ask yourself before deciding whether to apply early action or early decision to a college. If you're committed to attending your dream college and it offers an early decision plan, then you'll likely benefit from applying early decision. If, however, you have multiple top-choice schools and you'd be happy to attend one of several colleges on your list, applying early action or regular decision would arguably be the better choice.

To determine whether you're competitive, check your top-choice school's official website. If you exceed that college's first-year profile for high school GPA, class rank, and standardized test scores, either early action or early decision may be a smart move. You should also consider a school's average or projected financial aid package before applying early action or early decision. Though early admission schools do their best to provide a package best suited to your family's financial situation, some have larger endowments and can therefore offer more competitive packages.

Remember, too, that you don't get to compare aid packages when you apply early decision, so confirm ahead of time that the school should be able to offer you sufficient aid. Applying early to one or more schools means gathering all your application materials sooner than if you'd applied regular decision. Look at your fall schedule and consider whether you may face any obstacles to submitting a college application by November.

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. Lonnie Woods III is a student affairs administrator, professor, and professional development practitioner whose research examines the career competencies of college students studying arts-related majors.

Some students and high school counselors believe that applying early decision gives them better odds of acceptance, but the truth is early acceptance rates and admissions standards vary from school to school. There is a potential disadvantage to applying early, however. You may not have the opportunity to compare financial aid packages offered by other schools. Read More: Search for Colleges. Most schools allow you to apply early in one of two ways: early decision or early action. Early decision is binding.

This means if you are accepted through early decision, you are committed to attending that school, and will withdraw any applications you may have submitted for the regular deadlines at other schools.

You may not apply to more than one college under early decision. If you are not accepted, you will either be rejected or deferred. Rejected applicants may not apply again that year. Deferred applicants will be reconsidered during the regular admission period, and are free to apply to other schools.

Early decision deadlines are often in November, and students are typically notified of the decision in December. Early action is non—binding.

This means you are not bound to attend if you are accepted. You may also apply early action to multiple colleges. Early action deadlines usually fall at the same time as early decision. The obvious advantage of early action over early decision is the opportunity it gives you to apply to, and ultimately compare financial aid packages from several schools.