early decision

One alternative to early decision is early action (EA). Some institutions offer both early decision or early action, while others only offer one. Early action is non-binding, so a student admitted to a school early action could choose not to enroll in that school. Furthermore, ED programs require applicants to file only one ED application, while, depending on the institution, EA programs may be restrictive or non-restrictive and allow candidates to apply to more than one institution.[https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying-101/the-facts-about-applying-early-is-it-right-for-you The Facts About Applying Early: Is It Right For You?]

Many colleges now offer a second early decision plan: early decision II (ED II). The application typically due in late December to early January and decision in mid-February.{{Cite web |last=Moon |first=Kristen |title=Early Decision II Colleges: The Complete List. Forbes, Dec 13, 2018 |website=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristenmoon/2018/12/13/early-decision-ii-colleges-the-complete-list/#110554fb4acf |access-date=Aug 29, 2019}} Although the application deadline of early January is the same as for regular decision, the early decision II application is a binding commitment, with the benefits and drawbacks to the applicant and the college being similar to early decision I in most respects. The early decision II timeline is designed to allow students to apply to a new "first choice" school after they find out in mid- to late December they have been unsuccessful in their early decision or early action application to their original first choice, or to allow students that did not apply early decision I to apply under an early decision plan. It is intended as another chance for applicants to show commitment, and another tool for the school to protect its admission yield.{{Cite news |last1=Hoover |first1=Eric |date=26 October 2015 |title=E.D. II: The Not-So-Early Decision |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/education/edlife/ed-ii-the-not-so-early-decision.html |access-date=Sep 20, 2019}}

{{Expand section|date=April 2022}}

It was in answer to criticisms of early decision that, starting in 2004, Yale and Stanford switched from early decision to single-choice early action. Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia announced in the Fall of 2006 that they would no longer offer early action or early decision programs, which they claim favor the affluent, and moved to a single deadline instead.[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6059932&ft=1&f=3 NPR: Harvard Ending Early Admissions Process][https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/86/07G08/index.xml?section=topstories Princeton: Princeton to end early admissions] The University of Florida followed suit the following year. However, the University of Virginia, followed by both Harvard and Princeton, reinstated their single-choice early action program to promote diversity and provide opportunities for students looking for such an option in 2011.{{Cite web |title=Princeton to reinstate early admission program |url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S29/85/15K32/index.xml?section=topstories}}{{Cite web |date=24 February 2011 |title=Early action returns |url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/02/early-action-returns/}}

Early decision is a binding decision, meaning that students must withdraw applications to other schools if accepted. It is not legally binding,{{cite web |date=July 7, 2012 |title=Ask the Experts: Early Decision and Early Application |url=http://www.petersons.com/college-search/ask-experts-early-decision.aspx |work=Peterson's College Search |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}Erica L. Green, April 10, 2018, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/justice-department-probe-college-early-decision.html Justice Department Launches Probe of College Early Admissions], 'The New York Times, Retrieved April 11, 2018 but there is a commitment involved with penalties for withdrawing for spurious reasons. Advisers suggest that this method is only for students who are absolutely certain about wanting to attend a specific school.{{cite news |date=July 7, 2012 |title=Early Decision – Financial Aid |work=The Princeton Review |url=http://www.princetonreview.com/early-decision-and-financial-aid.aspx |accessdate=July 7, 2012}} If financial aid is a concern or if a family is "shopping for the best deal", then it is usually advised to apply early action or regular decision instead.{{cite news |author=Robert J. Massa |date=December 13, 2010 |title=The Case for Early Decision |work=The New York Times |url=http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/the-case-for-early-decision/ |accessdate=July 7, 2012}} The one stipulated situation under which a student may back out of the agreement is if the financial aid offer is insufficient.{{cite news |author=Grace Wong |date=December 12, 2005 |title=Early decision action plan: Your child has been accepted to the college of their dreams – but are you sure you can afford it? |work=CNN/Money |url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/12/09/pf/college/early_decision/index.htm |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite news |author=Annamaria Andriotis |date=November 10, 2009 |title=Do Early Decision Students Get More Aid? |work=SmartMoney |url=http://www.smartmoney.com/borrow/student-loans/do-early-decision-students-get-more-financial-aid/ |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite news |author=Lynn O'Shaughnessy |date=September 8, 2011 |title=Early Decision: 10 Things You Need To Know About Applying |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/early-decision-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-applying/ |access-date=July 7, 2012}}

A student who backs out for other reasons may be "blacklisted" by the early decision college, which may contact the student's high school guidance office, and prevent it from sending transcripts to other colleges, and high schools generally comply with such requests. In addition, the jilted college may contact other colleges about the withdrawal, and the other colleges would likely revoke their offers of acceptance as well.

Critics of the program argue that binding an applicant, especially one that is typically seventeen or eighteen years old, to a single institution is unnecessarily restrictive.{{cite magazine |author1=Diana Hanson |author2=Esther Walling |author3=Craig Meister |author4=Kristen Tabun |date=November 16, 2011 |title=Which College Admissions Deadline Should You Choose? |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-experts/2011/11/16/which-college-admissions-deadline-should-you-choose |magazine=US News |accessdate=2011-12-12}}

When admitted as an early decision applicant, with no other acceptances in hand, a student's bargaining position is weaker because the student cannot compare offers from different colleges.{{cite news |author=Kim Clark |date=December 27, 2010 |title=6 Kinds of Students Shouldn't Apply to College Early: Late bloomers and those who need financial aid benefit from regular applications. |work=US News |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/applying/articles/2010/12/27/6-kinds-of-students-shouldnt-apply-to-college-early |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite news |author=Kim Clark |date=December 15, 2010 |title=Early Applicants More Likely to Gain College Admission: Higher admission rate of early college applicants fuels controversy |work=US News |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/right-school/timeline/articles/2010/12/15/early-applicants-more-likely-to-gain-college-admission |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite news |date=July 7, 2012 |title=The Financial Aid Effect on Early Decision and Early Application |work=Peterson's College Search |url=http://www.petersons.com/college-search/early-decision-financial-aid.aspx |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite news |date=July 7, 2012 |title=How Early Decision Can Affect Financial Aid |work=CollegeMadeSimple.com |url=http://www.collegemadesimple.com/how-early-decision-can-affect-financial-aid/ |accessdate=July 7, 2012 |archive-date=January 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104070109/http://www.collegemadesimple.com/how-early-decision-can-affect-financial-aid/ |url-status=dead }} Since the applicant is declaring an intention to attend if accepted, the school can "pinpoint the smallest amount of financial aid it will take for the student to attend." The applicant who is sensitive to financial aid may suffer from the likelihood of the aid amount being less than the expected amount.{{cite news |author=Scott Jaschik |date=February 25, 2011 |title=Elite universities surrender to early admissions |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-02-25-early-admissions_N.htm |accessdate=December 12, 2011}}{{cite news |author=Gail MarksJarvis |date=September 20, 2010 |title=Applying to college? 'Early decision' could cost more |work=Chicago Tribune: Business |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/09/20/applying-to-college-early-decision-could-cost-more/ |access-date=July 7, 2012}} Several reports confirm that early decision applicants tend to come from wealthier families.{{cite web |author=Sarah Winkler |date=July 7, 2012 |title=How Early Decision Affects Financial Aid |url=http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/college-planning/financial-aid/early-decision-financial-aid1.htm |work=HowStuffWorks.com |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}Frank Bruni, December 21, 2016, The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/opinion/the-plague-of-early-decision.html?emc=edit_ty_20161221&nl=opinion-today&nlid=76434108&te=1&_r=0 The Plague of 'Early Decision'], Retrieved December 21, 2016, "...It significantly disadvantages students from low-income and middle-income families, who are ..."

A contrasting view is that by applying earlier in the year, the accepted ED students have "first crack at the money," particularly at competitive schools without large endowments. In any case, if a highly desirable ED admittee may withdraw because of financial concerns, the college "may pull out all the stops" to prevent this, and that the possibility of backing out for financial reasons gives an applicant some form of negotiating leverage. Universities with very large endowments may be unique in their ability to provide aid equally generously to students regardless of their application plan.{{cite news |author=Mark Kantrowitz |date=April 11, 2009 |title=Guidance Office: Answers About Financial Aid, Part 6 |work=The New York Times |url=http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/guidance-office-answers-about-financial-aid-part-6/ |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}

Schools which offer early decision benefit from a near certainty that the applicant will attend if admitted.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Recruitment and Yield Strategies |url=https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/soca_chapter2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410194706/https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/soca_chapter2.pdf |archive-date=2017-04-10 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=}} As a result, the admission yield is increased by admitting more students at the ED stage. The timing of the ED process also helps admissions offices spread the work of sifting through applications throughout more of the school year.{{cite news |author=Nicholas Thompson |date=September 2000 |title=Playing With Numbers: How U.S. News mismeasures higher education and what we can do about it |newspaper=Washington Monthly |url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0009.thompson.html |url-status=dead |quote=... U.S. News rankings don't measure how much students learn; ... |accessdate=January 11, 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114232520/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0009.thompson.html |archivedate=January 14, 2013 |df=mdy-all}} A number of schools which had EA plans have recently added ED plans to EA (Chicago and Tulane from Class of 2021 on, Virginia from Class of 2024{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=29 May 2019 |title=UVA Adds Early Decision Option |url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-adds-early-decision-option-prospective-applicants |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922031145/https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-adds-early-decision-option-prospective-applicants |archive-date=2019-09-22 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=}}), or have switched to ED and jettisoned EA (Boston College from Class of 2024 on{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Boston College to Launch Early Decision Program |url=https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/early-decision.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806005213/https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/early-decision.html |archive-date=2020-08-06 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=}}).

Some college counselors speculate that ED can serve to mitigate the problem of students failing to matriculate to a particular school in favor of a "superior" one.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} For example, one college might only admit a candidate deemed qualified for another, 'superior' college under ED, for in regular decision, should that student be admitted to the 'superior' competitor, that student would be unlikely to attend the college that originally offered the ED admission.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}{{Clarify|reason=unclear wording|date=April 2022}}

Applying early decision brings a greater statistical chance of being accepted,{{cite magazine |author1=Diana Hanson |author2=Esther Walling |author3=Craig Meister |author4=Kristen Tabun |date=November 16, 2011 |title=Which College Admissions Deadline Should You Choose? |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-experts/2011/11/16/which-college-admissions-deadline-should-you-choose |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |accessdate=December 12, 2011}}{{cite news |author=Peter Van Buskirk |date=September 19, 2011 |title=The College Admissions Insider: Decide if an Early Decision College Application is the Right Choice |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-admissions-insider/2011/09/19/decide-if-an-early-decision-college-application-is-the-right-choice |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}{{cite web |date=July 7, 2012 |title=Financial Aid and Early Decision |url=http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000198.htm |work=College Confidential |accessdate=July 7, 2012}}Christopher Avery; Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser (2004). The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-01620-3}}.{{cite news |author=Margaret Loftus |date=September 12, 2011 |title=Know if Applying to College Early is Right for You: Getting in could be easier, but a search for financial aid might suffer |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/09/12/know-if-applying-to-college-early-is-right-for-you?page=2 |accessdate=July 7, 2012}} possibly doubling or tripling the chances of an acceptance letter.{{cite news |author=Steve Cohen |date=September 23, 2011 |title=Top 10 myths of college admissions |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/top-10-myths-of-college-admissions/2011/09/22/gIQAEn8XoK_blog.html |accessdate=December 12, 2011}} This is usually attributed to three factors: first, candidates who apply "early" can only present colleges with their transcripts until the end of junior year of high school and therefore must be particularly strong applicants with very persuasive transcripts;{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} second, candidates who apply "early" have dedicated themselves to an institution and are more likely to match the institution's admission standards; third, student athletes sometimes apply "early" to their top choice school to demonstrate their commitment to a college varsity coach who, in turn, can push their applications in the admissions process. Some advisors suggest that early decision is the best choice for students who have clearly settled on one particular college.

In 2009, the average early acceptance rate according to one estimate was 15% greater than regular decision applicants. There is less agreement, however, whether it will help a borderline student win acceptance to a competitive college. Early decision candidates tend to have stronger educational credentials than regular decision candidates, and as a result, these candidates would have been admitted whether they applied by early or regular methods, and therefore the greater statistical likelihood of acceptance may have been explained by membership in the stronger applicant pool. But the commitment of an early decision application demonstrated by a borderline student can still be beneficial; "colleges really want qualified students who want them" and are more likely to offer acceptances to students ready to make a full commitment.

Most institutions include data on the number of ED applicants and ED admits in their annual Common Data Set (a few institutions do not release a Common Data Set at all), and trends for an individual institution can be readily complied. At the most competitive schools, the number of ED applicants has increased at a more rapid pace than regular decision applicants. Although the ED admit rate has declined at these schools in recent years, the absolute number of ED admits has managed to increase while the absolute number of regular decision admits has fallen rapidly and all the admit rates have also fallen.

A few schools have seen ED applicants more than double in the 2012–2019 period, including Rice (2,628 ED apps in 2019–20{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Acceptance rate hits record low 8.7 percent |url=https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/acceptance-rate-hits-record-low-of-8-7-percent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328213627/http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/acceptance-rate-hits-record-low-of-8-7-percent |archive-date=2019-03-28 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=ricethresher.org}} compared to 1,230 ED apps in 2012–13), Emory, NYU (13,842 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20;{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Applications to NYU Exceed 84,000 |url=https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/january/Applicationsrelease.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107210718/https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/january/Applicationsrelease.html |archive-date=2019-01-07 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=nyu.edu}} 5,778 in 2012–13), and Boston University (4,700 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20;{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Early Decision Applications to BU Surge, Matching National Trend |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/early-decision-applications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706184450/http://www.bu.edu:80/articles/2019/early-decision-applications/ |archive-date=2019-07-06 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=bu.edu}} 1,069 in 2012–13). The number of ED admits has also doubled at NYU and Boston University over this period, and although the increase of ED admits at other schools has been less dramatic, that increase has nonetheless reduced the number of RD admits meaningfully because half the class or more is now being filled by ED admits. At WashU and NYU, about 60% of the class is now taken up at the ED stage.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Washington University in St. Louis sees 70 percent increase in applications |url=https://admissions.blog/washington-university-in-st-louis-sees-70-percent-increase-in-applications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921113041/https://admissions.blog/washington-university-in-st-louis-sees-70-percent-increase-in-applications/ |archive-date=2019-09-21 |access-date=Sep 20, 2019 |website=}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=NYU Common Data Set 2018–19 |url=https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/CDS_2018-2019.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923145740/https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/institutionalResearch/documents/CDS_2018-2019.pdf |archive-date=2019-09-23 |access-date=Sep 21, 2019 |website=nyu.edu}}

In recent years, there has been a marked trend in the number of ED applicants, and in the proportion of the class being admitted via the ED process. As of 2019–20, almost every highly selective college (where admission rates are below 25%) admits more students through ED than it did a decade ago, but among them, there has been a remarkable shift in the admission strategy of a few schools resulting in as much as 60% of the class being selected from the ED pool compared to 30–35% only a few years ago.

A similar trend exists across the most competitive liberal arts colleges in early decision application and admission numbers, with over 50% of the class being filled at these schools from ED admits compared to only about 44% in 2012–13. Notably, the absolute number of ED admits has increased, even though the number of RD admits, the RD admit rate, the ED admit rate and the overall admit rate have all gone down.

• University and college admission
• Early action
• Rolling admission
• The Early Admissions Game

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Category:University and college admissions in the United States

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