Choosing between Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), and Regular Decision (RD) is about matching a student’s unique profile and goals with a college’s specific admissions cycle. The goal isn’t just to get “in”—it’s to ensure the student lands at a school that aligns with their academic, social, and financial needs.
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:
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
