For a complete understanding of what happens after you apply, including being admitted, waitlisted, rejected, or conditionally admitted, see our comprehensive guide on admission decisions and common outcomes.

What Is the Fundamental Difference Between Early Decision and Early Action?

Understanding the core distinction between these two application plans is essential before making any strategic decisions about your college applications.

Early Decision (ED) is a binding promise. Under this program, students apply early, usually by November 1 or November 15, and receive decisions by mid-December. In return for this early review, the student, parents, and school counselor sign a pledge that if accepted, the student will attend that college, withdraw all other applications, and not accept any other offers of admission. You can only apply to one school Early Decision.

Early Decision Two (ED2) operates similarly but with later deadlines—typically about six to eight weeks after ED1. This allows students who weren’t ready for the November deadline, or who were deferred or denied from their ED1 school, to make a binding commitment to another institution.

Early Action (EA) offers an early application review without the binding commitment. Students may apply as early as mid-October and receive decisions as early as mid-December. However, EA applicants are under no obligation to accept an offer and can wait until May 1 to decide. Students may apply to multiple schools EA.

As veteran college admissions expert Jamie Berger explains: “Early action is something almost everyone should do. You’re not bound to a school. You’re just expressing genuine interest. And you get some answers in December or January, so you have some schools in your back pocket.”

Be aware that some elite universities offer their own variations, including Restrictive Early Action (REA) and Single Choice Early Action (SCEA). These non-binding programs require that you not apply early to other private colleges although you typically can apply EA to public universities.

When Should a Student Apply Early Decision vs. Early Action?

The decision between ED and EA should be driven by your specific circumstances, not by the assumption that “earlier is always better.”

Apply Early Decision when all three conditions are met:

First, the college must be far and away your first choice. Ask yourself honestly: “If I got into every college on my list, would I choose to go to this particular school?” If you can’t answer with a confident “yes,” ED to that school is not advised.

Second, you need a reasonable chance of admission. Are your grades and test scores within the range the university generally accepts? If your scores are slightly below the 50% range, do you have a “hook” that makes you appealing, such as legacy status, recruited athlete designation, first-generation college student status, or underrepresented background?

Third, if your family needs financial aid, the school should meet 100% of demonstrated need. Great College Advice generally does not recommend that students with significant financial need apply ED unless that school guarantees to meet full financial need.

Apply Early Action when:

• You want the benefits of early notification without binding yourself to one school. 
• You need to compare financial aid packages before committing. 
• You’re still exploring your options and haven’t identified a clear first choice. 
• You’ve had academic challenges that senior year grades could help overcome.

Jamie Berger notes: “The only time not to apply early action is when you’ve had a rough patch. Say your junior year grades were lower and you need to prove yourself in the first semester of senior year. That is the rare occasion when regular decision is going to be greatly to your advantage.”

Does Applying Early Decision Actually Increase Your Chances of Admission?

The statistical advantage of ED is real but often misunderstood.

Many highly selective colleges accept 30-50% of their entire freshman class through the ED process, and the ED applicant pool is typically smaller than the regular pool. This creates a genuine statistical advantage for qualified applicants. Colleges value ED applicants because they can count on those students enrolling, which helps them predict yield—a critical metric for admissions offices.

However, Great College Advice emphasizes an important caveat: “What may be statistically true for an entire pool of applicants may not be true for an individual applicant. Admission is not a matter of randomized statistics. If a student does not possess at least the minimum requirements for entrance to a particular college, they will not somehow sneak past the admissions gate in the early round.”

Early applicants are still judged on their merits. The ED advantage works for students who are already competitive for admission—it doesn’t transform a reach school into a likely one.

As one parent in the Great College Advice community observed: “Don’t waste your ED on a dream school where you’re significantly below their typical admits. Save that binding commitment for a school where you’re actually competitive and where it can make a real difference.”

The key question isn’t whether ED provides an advantage generally, but whether it provides an advantage for you specifically, given your academic profile and the schools you’re considering.

How Does Early Decision Affect Financial Aid and Scholarship Opportunities?

This may be the most consequential consideration for many families, and it’s often underestimated.

When you apply ED, you essentially give up the right to compare financial aid packages. As Jamie Berger explains: “Early decision favors families who can pay the full cost or can pay what the Net Price Calculator estimates. Every family should be running the NPC for each school they want to apply to, especially if they want to apply early decision. If it pumps out an amount you can’t pay, you shouldn’t apply early decision because you are bound to accept that offer.”

The financial implications extend beyond just comparing packages. The ED system can subtly disadvantage students with high financial need in ways that are difficult to prove. Great College Advice notes: “If a student with high financial need is qualified for admission but not necessarily a clear stand-out, they may be deferred to the regular round. The reason? A high-need student costs the institution more money. If the admissions office feels they will have to pay a heavy price to admit a student in the ED round, the college may choose to defer a decision so as to ‘shop around’ for better customers in the regular pool.”

Early Action preserves your negotiating power. Jamie Berger illustrates: “It’s somewhat like buying a car. If you get four financial offers and your top choice gives you the least money, you can write to them and ask if they can approach what school X is offering. Early action gives you that bargaining ability. Early decision does not—you’re bound to one school.”

While the ED commitment isn’t legally binding, it is ethically so. You can be released from the agreement if the financial aid package is insufficient, but this should be a genuine last resort—not a planned strategy to game the system.

What Are Restrictive Early Action (REA) and Single Choice Early Action (SCEA)?

Several elite universities have created their own early application variants that fall between standard EA and ED.

Restrictive Early Action (REA) is non-binding like regular EA, but it restricts you from applying Early Decision to any other private college. You can typically still apply EA to public universities.

Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) is also non-binding but more restrictive—you cannot apply ED or EA to any other school (with some exceptions for public universities).

Schools offering these programs include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. The appeal for students is clear: you can apply early to a highly selective school without making a binding commitment. However, you cannot hedge your bets with other early applications to private institutions.

Understanding these distinctions is crucial when building your application strategy. Violating the restrictions—even accidentally—can result in rescinded applications or offers. Always read the fine print on each school’s early application policies and discuss your strategy with your counselor.

What Happens If I’m Deferred or Rejected in the Early Decision Round?

Not every ED application results in acceptance. Understanding your options after deferral or rejection is essential.

If you’re deferred, your application moves to the regular decision pool for reconsideration alongside all RD applicants. You’re released from any ED commitment and free to pursue other options, including applying ED2 elsewhere.

If you’re rejected, the decision is final for that application cycle, but you’re similarly released from the ED agreement.

Great College Advice states clearly: “Once a college has released you from the ED agreement either by deferring or denying you, you can feel free to tell another school that you will go there if accepted by applying ED2, if they offer an ED2 application plan.”

This is precisely why Great College Advice insists that students complete all applications before ED decisions arrive: “If a student is rejected from all ED and EA applications, they will have only about two weeks to complete and submit the remaining RD applications. Leaving all this work to the last minute means running the risk of submitting poorly crafted applications.”

Beyond the practical concerns, there’s an emotional dimension: “If a student is rejected by their first choice college, and maybe some second and third choices too, the psychological energy needed to complete those subsequent RD applications is significant. That disappointment can have a negative impact on the quality of those RD applications.”

Can I Back Out of an Early Decision Acceptance, and What Are the Consequences?

This question comes up frequently, and the answer requires understanding both the technical and practical realities.

Technically, the ED agreement is not a legal contract. You cannot be sued for breaking it. However, the consequences are serious enough that Great College Advice treats it as a moral promise.

Breaking the agreement could potentially ruin admissions chances at that university for future applicants from your high school, and will likely ruin your relationship with your high school counseling department. The ED agreement requires your counselor’s signature, and they are expected to enforce it. If you refuse to honor the agreement, the university may express its displeasure by refusing to admit future applicants from your school.

Jamie Berger puts it directly: “It’s not legally binding, but there are consequences if you back out. Consequences to the high school. Consequences to the kid.”

The only legitimate reason to withdraw from an ED acceptance is if the financial aid package is genuinely insufficient for your family to afford attendance. If that happens, you should work with the financial aid office to try to find a solution. If one cannot be reached, you can ask to be released from the commitment—but this should never be your planned strategy going in.

A community member noted: “We tell families to think of ED as a real commitment. Don’t sign it hoping the aid will work out or planning to back out if something better comes along. That’s not fair to the school, your counselor, or future applicants from your high school.”

Making Your Decision: A Strategic Framework

Choosing between Early Decision and Early Action isn’t about gaming the system—it’s about aligning your application strategy with your genuine circumstances and priorities.

Choose ED if: You have a clear, unwavering first choice. Your academic profile is competitive for that school. Your family can afford the school regardless of the specific aid package, OR the school guarantees to meet 100% of demonstrated need. You’re ready to commit.

Choose EA if: You want early answers without binding commitments. You need to compare financial aid packages. You’re still refining your college list. You want to keep your options open while demonstrating genuine interest.

Choose Regular Decision if: You need senior year grades to strengthen your application. You’re not ready to commit to any school early. Your college list is still evolving significantly.

Remember that applying ED is the ultimate demonstration of interest—but it should only be done when it’s genuinely the right decision for your situation. As Great College Advice advises: “Please discuss any thoughts about applying Early Decision with your counselor” to ensure your strategy aligns with your goals, your profile, and your family’s needs.

Ready to Build Your Early Application Strategy?

Deciding between Early Decision and Early Action is one of the most important choices in your college admissions journey—and you don’t have to figure it out alone. Our team of veteran college admissions experts at Great College Advice can help you evaluate your options, identify the right schools for your ED or EA applications, and build a strategy that maximizes your chances of admission.

Schedule a free consultation today to discuss your student’s unique situation and get personalized guidance from professionals who have helped thousands of families navigate the admissions process successfully.

The post Early Decision vs. Early Action: Which Is Right? first appeared on Great College Advice.

Students will be sending in their Early Decision (ED) applications to meet the November 1 deadline with most colleges emailing their Early Decision notifications in mid-December. It’s one of the times of the year when the team at Great College Advice have our fingers and toes crossed very hard for our students who have applied ED. It seems like a strange time to be asking, “is early decision binding or not?”

The question has received a lot more attention recently following a New York Times article (paywall) discussing how Tulane punished a Colorado private high school after a student backed out of their ED agreement with Tulane. As we don’t have all the details of this particular situation, we will refrain from giving our opinion. But it’s important for families to understand how these ED agreements work.

Applying early decision (ED) is not a good idea for every college applicant. For some, sending out a single application could be financially foolish because it carries a binding agreement to attend that school no matter what. For others, if you’re applying ED to a college you’re not excited about just because you’ve been told that it improves your admission odds then that is not a good decision either.

But, we also sympathize with families. The college process can be unfair. Universities like Tulane take roughly 2/3 of its class in its Early Decision rounds. It’s virtually impossible to be accepted in Tulane’s regular decision round. And, yes, for many selective universities the acceptance rate is higher in ED. If you truly have a dream school and financial aid is not an issue, then ED makes sense. If not, then think carefully about whether early decision is right for you.

So Is Early Decision Binding or Not?

But let us clarify our position: we don’t advocate that students and their families renege on the binding ED agreement. The only justifiable grounds for getting out of this agreement is insufficient financial aid. If financial situations are such that parents simply cannot (or will not) be able to pay for college, the family (along with the student’s high school counselor) should communicate with the financial aid office and ask to be released from the agreement.

But it’s MUCH better to never get yourself into this sort of predicament in the first place. Again, if you go back and read our article explaining how ED works, you’ll understand that colleges have less incentive to offer the best financial aid packages to early applicants. Of course, colleges will say that they offer equivalent packages to ED and regular applicants. But, there is no way of proving or disproving their claim. Colleges do not divulge all their records and offers publicly. The logic of the situation (plus long talks with admissions officers off the record over beers) indicates that this is how colleges do business.

Therefore, if ever a family comes to us with any indication that financial aid awards will be central to the decision about where their kid goes to college we de-emphasize ED. This allows families to do some comparison shopping later in the spring. (It’s okay to apply Early Action, however, as these admissions programs carry no binding agreement).

When selecting a college, cost needs to be one of the most important factors for most families. But there are other considerations involved too. And it’s hard to make a general rule when each family’s financial circumstances are different.

Our point is that no student should ever renege on their ED agreement if they have done their homework. They will never get in a situation in which backing out of an ED agreement is necessary to maintain a family’s financial health.

What if I need to talk to someone to ask whether early decision is binding or not?

If you need professional guidance to explore your own circumstances and to discuss the binding nature of your early decision agreement, please reach out to Great College Advice. Every year we help families understand the nuances of the college admissions process so that they can maximize their priorities in the college decision. Please contact us here.

Since 2007, the expert team of college admissions consultants at Great College Advice has provided comprehensive guidance to thousands of students from across the United States and over 45 countries across the world. Great College Advice has offices in Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, North Carolina and Massachusetts.  

In addition to our one-on-one counseling, Great College Advice extends its support through one of the most active and resource-rich Facebook Groups for college-bound students and their families: College Admissions Experts. With nearly 100,000 members—students, parents, and experienced counselors—this vibrant forum offers peer support and expert advice like no other. 

The post Is Early Decision Binding or Not? first appeared on Great College Advice.

Early Decision (ED):  

The Early Decision application deadline is usually earlier (around November 1 for most schools) than other options and students are given a decision about admission a few weeks after they send in their application. So, students who apply ED cannot apply elsewhere ED but may apply under other non-binding application plans. Once students are accepted ED, they are obligated to attend the school and must withdraw any applications that they have submitted elsewhere.

Early Action (EA): 

Application deadline is usually earlier (typically November 1, November 15 or December 1) than other options and students are given a decision about admission a few weeks after they send in their application. So, students applying EA may apply elsewhere to as many schools as they like under any application plan. And, if they are accepted EA, they are not obligated to attend the school.

Rolling Admission:  

For Rolling Admission, students can submit their application any time within the application period and will receive an admissions decision within a few weeks of whenever they submit their application. In addition, there is no obligation to attend the school. And students may apply wherever else under any application plan.

Regular Decision (RD):  

For Regular Decision, the application deadline is firm and usually the final one. Applicants can submit under any application plan to other colleges and have no obligation to attend the school if they are accepted. Students will typically receive their admission decision several weeks to months after the application deadline.

Want to learn more about all the various admissions deadlines and programs? See this post: Early Decision or Regular Decision: Which Is Better?

What is Restrictive Early Action (REA)?

Now, onto Restrictive Early Action (REA)! REA is essentially a hybrid of Early Decision and Early Action. REA requires students to submit their applications early and provides them with an admissions decision early as well. While the student isn’t obligated to go to the school if he or she is accepted, the student is restricted from applying to other schools early. In all instances, the student is prohibited from applying Early Decision. But in some cases, often referred to as Single Choice Early Action (SCEA), the university may also prohibit the student from applying to other schools Early Action unless the alternate school is a public institution.

Each school that offers REA/SCEA has nuances to what it requires. So it is always best to check directly on the university’s website to see what the particular restrictions are. Also, if a student doesn’t follow the rules of a given school’s REA policy and the college finds out, any offer of admission will be rescinded.

The number of universities that offer Restrictive Early Action and Single Choice Early Action is limited and tends to be the very selective institutions. The following is the list of six universities (CalTech also offers REA) that offer the REA/SCEA option in the 2025-2026 application year and the restrictions of each school for applying to other institutions:

Restrictive Early Action Universities: Ability to Apply to Other Colleges

* If Deferred or Denied in the REA/SCEA round in December you may apply ED2 if the application deadline is after the December decision date. 

Confused about what is restricted early action and need some assistance?

The big take-away from REA is that if your dream school is an elite university with a Restrictive Early Action option, be sure to check the rules of the individual university. 

If you’re just starting on the college admissions journey, Great College Advice offers the best of both worlds: personalized, expert college admissions counseling tailored to your needs, and a lively, supportive community through College Admissions Experts, one of the most active and resource-rich Facebook Groups for college-bound students and their families with over 100,000 members.

Contact the team at Great College Advice to explore our full range of services and to learn how we support students through every step of the college admissions process to help your student get into their dream school. Then join our College Admissions Experts Facebook Group to connect, learn, and grow.

Inside College Admissions Experts members share:

• Practical application tips and essay strategies

• Financial aid guidance and scholarship updates

• Honest peer experiences—from test prep to campus visits

More than just factual advice, the group fosters a sense of camaraderie. Posts from our team and members alike encourage, inform, and demystify the admissions journey.

Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Consultant
Westfield, NJ

The post What is Restrictive Early Action first appeared on Great College Advice.

While Early Action is the right choice for many high-performing applicants, Early Decision offers a meaningful advantage for full-pay families with a clear first-choice school. And Regular Decision serves students who need additional time to strengthen their profile or compare financial aid packages. Understanding these nuances is essential to maximizing your chances for college admission. 

What Is the Difference Between Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision?

Let’s dive into the fundamental differences between application plans, as understanding these is critical before making a timing decision. Each plan has distinct deadlines, binding implications, and strategic consequences.

Regular Decision 

Regular Decision (RD) is the standard application process. Students apply by published deadlines—typically on or after January 1 of senior year—and receive decisions no later than April 1. With RD, students have no obligation to commit until the common response date of May 1, allowing time to compare offers from multiple schools.

Early Decision

Early Decision (ED) represents a binding commitment. Students apply early (usually by November 1 or November 15), receive decisions by mid-December, and in return for this early review, the student, parents, and school counselor sign a pledge that if accepted, the student will attend that college and withdraw all other applications. Students may only apply ED to one school.

Early Decision 2 

Early Decision 2 (ED2) follows the same binding structure as ED but with later deadlines—typically about four to six weeks after ED. This gives students who weren’t ready for ED1, or were denied or deferred from their ED1 school, another opportunity to make a binding commitment.

Early Action

Early Action (EA) offers early review and early decisions (often by December or January) without the binding promise. Students can apply EA to multiple schools and wait until May 1 to make their final decision.

When Should a Student Apply Early Decision vs. Early Action?

Veteran college admissions expert Jamie Berger offers clear guidance on this decision: “Early Action is something almost everyone should do. Early Action—you’re not bound to a school. You’re just expressing your intent that you’re genuinely interested. And they take a group of people from that first pool. Some get rejected early, some get moved on to the spring decision time.”

The key benefit of EA extends beyond demonstrating interest. As Jamie notes: “The other benefit is you get some answers in December or January—you have some schools in your back pocket. Ideally, maybe you have the school that you want the most.”

For Early Decision, the Great College Advice Family Handbook outlines three essential conditions that must all be met:

1. The college must be far and away the student’s first choice 

Students should ask themselves: “If I got into every college on my list, would I choose to go to this particular school?” If the answer is anything other than a definitive “yes,” an ED application is not advised.

1. The student must stand a reasonable chance of admission 

Are your grades and test scores within the range the university generally accepts? If your scores are below the 50% range, do you have a “hook” that makes you appealing, such as legacy status, recruited athlete status, or underrepresented background?

1. The college must meet 100% of demonstrated financial need (if the family requires aid). 

This condition is non-negotiable for families who need assistance.

Do Students Get an Admissions Advantage by Applying Early Decision?

The statistical advantage of Early Decision is real but often misunderstood. Statistically speaking, it is ‘easier’ to get into a college during the ED process than during the regular process because colleges know that they can count on you attending their school, and being able to predict the number of students who will actually attend their institution is extremely valuable to admissions offices.

However, keep in mind that what may be statistically true for an entire pool of applicants may not be true for an individual applicant. Admission is not a matter of randomized statistics. If a student does not possess at least the minimum requirements for entrance to a particular college, they will not somehow sneak past the admissions gate in the early round.

A perspective from inside admissions adds nuance. A former UChicago admissions officer shared in the Great College Advice community: “Early Decision pools are much stronger—you’re competing against kids who’ve been prepping since 10th grade, legacy students, and international applicants with perfect stats. So while the acceptance rate might look higher, you’re facing tougher competition. Regular Decision has way more applicants, but they’re more diverse in terms of preparation level.”

The strategic takeaway: don’t fixate on aggregate acceptance rates. Instead, honestly assess whether YOUR profile positions you for admission at YOUR ED college.

How Does Early Decision Affect Financial Aid and the Ability to Compare Offers?

Financial considerations may be the most underestimated factor in the ED vs. EA vs. RD decision. Jamie is direct about this reality: “Early Decision favors families who can pay the full cost. Every family should be running the Net Price Calculator for each school they want to apply to, especially if they want to apply Early Decision. Because if they run the NPC for the college and it pumps out an amount—if you can’t pay that amount, you shouldn’t apply Early Decision because ostensibly, if you apply Early Decision, you are bound to accept that offer.”

The contrast with Early Action is significant. Jamie explains, “Early Action still gives you that bargaining ability. Early Decision does not. It is somewhat like buying a car—if you get four financial offers from four colleges and your top choice gave you the least amount of money, you write to them and say, ‘Dear [College], we love you so much, but we’re being offered $40,000 more a year by school X. Can you approach that? Can you help us in any way?’ You can bargain with them. With Early Decision, you’re bound to one school.”

The Great College Advice Family Handbook reveals another uncomfortable truth: “The ED system tends to discriminate against students with high financial need in subtle ways that are not easy to prove. If a student with high financial need is qualified for admission at a need-aware college, but not necessarily a clear stand-out in the eyes of the admissions officers, they may be deferred to the regular round to compete for an offer with everyone else. The reason? A high-need student costs the institution more money.”

What colleges don’t tell you is that ED is not just about ‘filling the class with kids who want us’; it’s about budgeting. Many of the students accepted in the early round are full-pay students.

What Happens If I Get Deferred from Early Decision or Early Action?

Deferral moves your application to the Regular Decision pool for reconsideration. This is not a rejection—your application will be reviewed again alongside RD applicants.

For ED applicants, deferral has a silver lining: once a college has released you from the ED agreement, either by deferring or denying you, you can feel free to tell another school that you will go there if accepted by applying ED2, if they offer an ED2 application plan.

It is crucial that students who submit early applications have their Regular Decision applications completed and ready to go before they hear back from their early schools.

This matters for two reasons. 

The practical reason: 

If a student is rejected from all ED and EA applications, they will have only about two weeks to complete and submit the remaining RD applications. Leaving all this work to the last minute means running the risk of submitting poorly crafted applications.

The emotional reason: 

If a student is rejected by their first choice college—and maybe some second and third choices, too—the psychological energy needed to complete those subsequent RD applications is significant. That disappointment can have a negative impact on the quality of those RD applications.

When Is Regular Decision the Better Strategic Choice?

Regular Decision becomes the optimal strategy in specific circumstances. Jamie identifies the primary scenario: “The only time not to apply early action is when you’ve had a rough patch. Say your junior year grades were lower, and you need to prove yourself first semester of senior year. That is the rare occasion when Regular Decision is going to be greatly to your advantage because the schools just won’t take you based on those junior grades.”

He adds important context about recovery: “But if something tragic happened in your life—if you were ill, if someone else was ill, and freshman and sophomore year were great, junior year you plummeted, and everything is back on track—you can show that and not apply early.”

Do keep in mind that your cumulative GPA will not improve that much in a single semester. You can demonstrate a change in your focus and performance in that final semester. For some schools, that may be enough. 

Beyond academic recovery, RD serves students who need to compare financial aid packages across multiple schools, haven’t yet identified a clear first-choice school that meets their criteria, or want additional time to strengthen their application through test retakes, additional achievements, or more polished essays.

What Are the Consequences of Breaking an Early Decision Agreement?

While the Early Decision agreement is not a legal contract, breaking it carries serious repercussions that extend beyond the individual student.

Breaking the ED agreement could potentially ruin admissions chances at that university for future applicants from your high school, and will likely ruin your relationship with your high school counseling department. The ED agreement requires the signature of your high school guidance counselor, who is expected to do everything possible to enforce the agreement. And if your counselor is unsuccessful because you refuse to honor the agreement, the university may express its displeasure by refusing to admit future applicants from your high school.

There is one acceptable reason to be released: if the financial aid package offered is insufficient for the student to attend. However, process matters. If you have received an acceptance ED but your financial aid offer is simply impossible, then you should definitely keep your RD applications in play. 

However, you cannot and should not send in your matriculation deposit to your ED school. This deposit clearly signifies your intention to go to that ED school, and once you’ve paid your deposit, you must withdraw all of your other applications.

Making the right application timing decision requires understanding your student’s unique profile, financial circumstances, and target schools. For personalized guidance, talk to our team by scheduling a free consultation.

The post Regular Decision vs. Early Action vs. Early Decision first appeared on Great College Advice.

What do you do when you are deferred?

Let’s just be honest. Being deferred in the early round of college admissions really stinks. It’s a kind of purgatory. It’s disappointing, especially if the college in question was your first choice. A deferral feels like a rejection, even if it is not a final decision:  you COULD still be accepted in the regular round. Nevertheless, a deferral feels lousy.

You do have some options about what to do, though not all of them are very good.

Option 1:  Sit around and mope when you are deferred

This might be tempting. But it’s obviously self-defeating. There is no denying that deferrals are filled with negative emotions, and you must honor those feelings and understand that you really and truly feel down-in-the-dumps about a it. But wallowing in self-pity is not going to help make things different. You need to recognize and deal with the emotions, but then get up out of that chair and make some decisions and take some action.

Option 2:  Do nothing

On its face, this sounds like a bad option, too.  I mean, you’ve gotta something, right? Actually, in some cases doing nothing is just the right thing to do. But it implies that you already have a plan in place in the case of such a possibility. As educational planners, we help our students have a Plan B (and C and D) in place, just in case Plan A does not materialize. And in some cases, students find that Plan B is just about as desirable as Plan A, so they can just ignore the deferral and execute on their subsequent strategy without a whole lot of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing.  Let Plan A go and turn to the other desirable options in front of you.

Option 3:  Apply to a bunch more schools

This is a possibility, but probably not advisable. First, it will just make a whole lot more work for yourself in trying to get new applications out the door. Second, these schools may be added to your list without full consideration of whether you even want to attend. Good decisions are seldom made in a panic.  Again, if you have taken the time to fully consider your options before you even submitted those Early Decision (or Early Action) applications, then stick with your original plan.  Just because Plan A did not pan out does not mean that the other elements of your overall strategy should be thrown out.  The deferral was always a risk–assuming you planned for that possibility in the first place.  Don’t let the emotional turmoil of a deferral push you into making silly decisions that don’t make sense when you’re in a more rational, calm state.

Option 4: When you are deferred, write a letter of continuing interest (LOCI) to the school(s) that deferred you

This is the best option by far. It allows you to do what is necessary to keep Plan A open as a possibility, but also lets you execute on the rest of your strategy.

So what’s needed? It depends on the school in question. When you receive your deferral letter, the university will have explicit instructions about what you do in the case of a deferral.  We recommend that you follow those directions faithfully. Some will advocate that you try to go above and beyond those instructions. But our belief is that you can easily go overboard and risk annoying admissions officers for not following their instructions.  They are giving you these instructions for a reason.

For example, some might advocate sending something that will help you stand out, like a box of cookies or a singing telegram. This would surely help the admissions officers to remember your name–only because you were over the top in desperation to be accepted. You might become memorable for all the wrong reasons and thereby tank your chances of admission. So please:  follow directions.

When you are deferred, how should you write your letter of continuing interest?

Again, the university will tell you exactly what you should do if you are deferred. Sometimes the instructions will be very simple: “please check this box on this form to indicate that you would like to be considered in the regular admissions round, or check this box if you would like us to chuck your application in the bin and take a flying leap.” (Most likely you’ll want to check that first box).

Sometimes they will ask you for any updates that you would like to add to your application that would be considered in the second review of your application in the regular decision round.  Most often, you will be asked to deliver these updates through the university admissions portal. You simply complete a text box on the portal with your updates and press “send.”  These updates will then be automatically added to your file.

Depending on the school, you may also be invited to submit a “letter of continuing interest” or LOCI.  This letter is what it sounds like:  it’s a proclamation of your continuing desire to attend the school if admitted.  You simply are reiterating what they already know:  that you submitted your application early in hopes of being accepted and those feelings of desire have not dissipated, and that despite your disappointment in the deferral, you still really, really, really want to go there.

What should I say in my letter of continuing interest?

A lot of ink (okay, maybe not ink…but a lot of pixels?) has been spilled explaining what these LOCI should like. Our take is that these should be very simple statements of fact and intent.

The facts

What have you done since you sent in your application that admissions officers should know and consider as they review your application for a second time? In most cases, the reality is that you have done very little in the six weeks between the early application submission and your receipt of the deferral.  But there are things you might want to share, depending on how seminal those six weeks have been.

Here are some examples:

• Your first semester grades in your senior courses were a triumph.
• Your SAT or ACT score took a great leap upward.
• You won a major sports award.
• You won a major academic award.
• You were accepted into a very competitive summer program.
• You were won a concerto competition with a local orchestra or band.
• You completed a major service project that you were preparing while you were preparing those early applications.
• You completed your Girl Scouts Gold Award.
• You had a poem published in a literary journal.

You get the idea:  what have you accomplished since the application was originally submitted that make a material differences in how you might be evaluated by the admissions office?

Again, our experience is that the vast majority of students do not have a lot of facts to add to their application.  But if there are facts to share, share them!

The continuing interest

In this part of the letter you should express–very briefly–your continued hope that the admissions office will select you. With this short paragraph of the letter, you really need to be concise. You also must not whine. You must not become a sycophant–complimenting the college (or worse, the admissions office) on the many positive traits this college possesses. You can reiterate that the school remains your top choice, that you remain eager to attend, and that you appreciate that your application will receive a second, serious review.

Some students have an impulse to go on and on about how wonderful the school is, about how they can imagine having coffee in this little cafe or they hope to be able to study in this or that library or take a course with Professor Longbottom.

Please spare your overworked admissions officers this schmaltz. All they want to know–really–is that you cared enough to send them a note and that you remain committed to attend if accepted.  Just make your point and close your letter with a “Sincerely yours” or “Yours truly” and be done.

So, in summary, what should you do when you are deferred?

The three-part answer is fairly simple.

First, feel the pain. It stings. Deferrals are no fun. You applied to a school in hopes that you’d be accepted. You weren’t–at least not yet. And the feeling you are feeling is real. So let it wash over you. But don’t let it debilitate you. There are things to do.

Second, execute on your backup plans that you put in place precisely for this possibility. You need to complete all the rest of your applications (if you haven’t already–which you should have done long before you received this deferral), and send them off.

Third, do whatever the college asks you to do to keep your application in consideration for the regular decision admissions round. Follow their instructions faithfully.

And if you are asked or invited to write a letter of continuing interest, do it. But keep it short, sweet, and to the point.  Share any new information that needs to be included in your application in the second review during the regular round. And simply restate that you would likely attend–or certainly would attend–if admitted.

Do you need help when you are deferred from your first choice college?

The counselors at Great College Advice are experts in helping students to pick up the piece after a deferral. Most of our clients have created clear alternative strategies in the event that their early choices do not come through as planned.

But if you find yourself at the end of your rope, not knowing what to do, feeling lost and without a strategy, we can help.  We can assist in getting you back on track. We can help you create that last-minute plan that will ensure that at the end of the regular admissions round that you have solid choices for your college education.

If you need help when you are deferred, contact us and we’ll show you how we can help.

The post Deferred From Your First Choice College? What to Do first appeared on Great College Advice.

With the exception of Dartmouth, which saw a decrease in its applications of ~12.5% (which we hypothesize is due to the relatively recent bad press that the school received about its Greek life), and Cornell, who has not reported final numbers, yet, the balance of the Ivy League schools saw an increase in early applications over last year.  Harvard, for example, reported a whopping 15% more applications for the Class of 2017 than for the Class of 2016.  Other highly selective schools such as MIT (up 9%) and Northwestern (up 7%) also saw a significant increase in their early application numbers year over year.

While many schools haven’t reported their early results, here is a chart that we pulled together to give you a flavor of what’s been happening out there.  It details selected highly competitive schools and their early admissions acceptance rates.  If you follow overall admissions rates at these types of schools, you’ll see that the Early Admit Rates noted below are significantly higher than each school’s historic overall admit rates.

In doing my research, I also noted that a number of the schools deferred a significant portion of their early applicants to the Regular Decision pool.  Yale, for example, deferred over 55% of its early applicants, Brown seems to have deferred around 70% and Dartmouth 35%.  Anecdotally, it seems that MIT has also deferred a tremendous number of its applicants, but we don’t have any firm numbers.
These deferral numbers indicate that the schools are getting early applications from large numbers of qualified candidates, and the schools are not prepared to say “no” until they see what the Regular Decision pool brings.  Still, the schools are also not prepared to say “yes” to these applicants, either, and historically, the number of deferred applicants who ultimately get admitted are few.
The schools that offer an Early Decision plan seem to be filling an unbelievable 40%+ of their freshman class from their early applications.  This means that students who apply Regular Decision to these very selective schools will have an even tougher go of it simply because there are fewer slots to fill.  A while ago, I wrote a blog post trying to answer the question:  Is it easier to get in if you apply early?  Many of the points in that post are relevant here.  Essentially, early applicants most definitely benefit from indicating that a school is their top pick and applying early, but only if the candidate meets the admissions standards of the school in the first place.
The sad part about this current situation is that because qualified students appear to have an advantage if they apply early to these highly competitive institutions, candidates are using early application plans as a strategy to gain admission, even if they are not sure that a given school is actually where they want or ought to go.  Especially if they apply as part of a binding ED program, then whether they are sure or not, if they get in, that’s where they will have to go.  These dynamics are forcing students to make their decisions about college several months earlier in their high schools careers when, perhaps, they haven’t had time to fully explore their options and figure out what is best for them.
The lesson is that if students believe that they might be interested in applying to highly selective schools, they should start their research early.  Applying early can be advantageous, but don’t apply early to a school simply because it is a name brand.  In doing so, other options might be shut out that would ultimately be more suitable.
Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Consultant
Westfield, NJ

The post Early Application Results for Selective Schools first appeared on Great College Advice.

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“Offering an accelerated decision cycle for interested applicants will increase Harvard’s potential to attract top-caliber students.

Hmmm.  Who knew that Harvard needed to increase its potential to attract top students?

Less than two hours after Harvard made its statement,  Princeton University also jumped on the bandwagon and announced that they too were going to reinstate their Early Action plans.  Princeton President  Shirley M. Tilghman said she believed that,

“…bringing back an early program would allow her school to better recruit underrepresented groups.”

The Harvard Dean stated similar concerns,

“We looked carefully at trends in Harvard admissions these past years and saw that many highly talented students, including some of the best-prepared low-income and underrepresented minority students, were choosing programs with an early-action option, and therefore were missing out on the opportunity to consider Harvard,” he said.

And that’s right.  No one should miss out on the opportunity to consider Harvard or Princeton.  But if you’d like to consider some other colleges as well, why not give us a call.

Juliet Giglio

Educational Consultant in California

The post Harvard, Princeton Reinstate Early Action first appeared on Great College Advice.

The post Early Admissions is Here to Stay Despite Critics first appeared on Great College Advice.

It could be, as the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions says in the article, that the pool of ED applicants at Tufts was just outstanding this year. Or it could be that Tufts is hedging its bets in a tough economy and taking more from this pool of students guaranteed to matriculate.

While most admissions officers have a tough time admitting it, their desks are heaving with applications from qualified students. At the margins, the qualitative difference between the student who is denied and the student who is admitted is negligible. (See my article here about the randomness of college admission–as documented by admissions officers themselves).

I will be interested to see if Early Decision acceptances are up at other selective colleges. I will not be surprised if they are. Nor will I be surprised if deans of admissions swear on stacks of Bibles that the reason for this trend is the increased quality in their applicant pools. (Was the Tufts ED pool really 12% better–qualitatively?)

Colleges are businesses. They have budgets. And admissions offices are the sales and marketing arms of these big businesses.

So we’ll see how things continue to shake out in this admissions cycle.

Great College Advice

The post Early Decision Acceptances Rise at Tufts: A Harbinger? first appeared on Great College Advice.