What is Early Decision 2 (ED2)? 

Early Decision 2 application deadlines are usually January 1st or January 15th. You make the same promise to attend this university as you did in the ED1 round if you are accepted. When you apply ED2, you will receive a response from the college around mid-February. And if you are accepted in ED2, you must withdraw all other applications to other schools. Many selective colleges have adopted the ED2 round because it helps them manage enrollment better by increasing their yield rate.  

The yield rate is the percentage of students who receive an offer of admission who actually enroll in that college. Colleges want high yield rates. The elite universities generally yield above 50% of accepted students, with Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Yale’s yield rate typically above 70%. However, selective liberal arts colleges may have yield rates only in the 20-25% range. By accepting more students in the early decision rounds, a college’s yield rate will increase as the promise students make under binding ED programs means that the yield rate is 100% for these ED1 and ED2 students. 

Should I apply Early Decision 2? 

If you have a clear second choice school that you are genuinely excited about attending then definitely apply ED2 to this college. In general, ED2 gives you a statistically better shot at admission than if you go into the regular decision (RD) pool. Although colleges disclose overall ED acceptance rates, almost all do not break out the specific ED1 and ED 2 acceptance rates. However, ED2 acceptance rates will be lower vs. ED1 for various reasons, including ED1 athletic recruiting applications. But, ED2 acceptance rates are typically higher than RD acceptance rates.

Also, if you have applied Early Action (EA) to your clear second favorite choice and they happen to also offer the ED2 round, reach out to the admissions office and request that your application be moved into the ED2 pile. 

Mistakes to avoid in the Early Decision 2 round: 

• Did you overshoot in ED1 by applying to your dream college even though your grades, course rigor, etc. were well below that school’s typical accepted student profile? Don’t make this same mistake in ED2 as you are unlikely to be accepted. 

• Are you not excited about your ED2 choice but have been told that you need to apply ED2 anyway because it increases your admissions odds? Don’t do this. You need to be excited about this college as this is a binding commitment. If there is no clear #2 choice, then continue with your EA and RD application gameplan.

ED2 and Financial Aid 

Just as in the ED1 round, if you apply ED2 and need merit-based aid, it is possible that the financial offer will be lower than you had anticipated. Colleges swear that the offer just as much merit aid in the early rounds as they do in the regular rounds. But this is hard to prove one way or another. Colleges just aren’t that transparent about how they award financial aid. Learn more about applying for financial aid in this blog post.

However, if a financial aid award just isn’t enough (and assuming you did the research in advance using Net Price Calculators and the various federal and institutional financial aid calculators), tell the financial aid office of your Early Decision 2 college that you either need more money or you will have to be released from your binding agreement. Take the time to identify colleges in the RD round that are likely to offer financial aid packages that will come in at or under budget.   

Read more about calculating the real cost of college in our blog post.

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