Should a student apply early decision?
At some schools, the deadline for early decision applications is as soon as Nov. 1.
Today I am sharing a post written by Peter Van Buskirk, a veteran admission expert, on his take on Early Decision applications.
Last week I ran Peter’s post on Early Action applications. If you missed that one, here it is:
Applying Early Action to Colleges
Applying Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) are increasingly popular options for college applicants. The following is a breakdown of what you need to know before you apply ED.
1. Early Decision (ED): What Is It?
Early Decision is an application opportunity offered by many of the nation’s selective institutions that provides the promise of early feedback (an admission decision) in exchange for the student’s commitment to enroll if accepted. A student may only be active as an ED candidate at one college. If admitted ED, a student is expected to withdraw all other Regular Decision applications that might have been 
active and enroll at the ED school.
ED: Inside the Numbers
Think selectivity. Think rankings. “Admitting one to enroll one,” allows a college to use ED to leverage as many high yield students into its entering classes as possible. By contrast, many schools must admit 3-5 students in Regular Decision to enroll one, a lower yielding proposition.
What you are looking at, then, is fundamental enrollment management. For every ED enrollment it achieves, a college can reduce its number of Regular Decision offers by as many as five-fold thereby improving selectivity and becoming more attractive in the college ranking process.
Possible ED Outcomes
Colleges will consider one of three outcomes when students apply ED: acceptance, deferral and denial. If accepted, the student is expected to enroll. When deferred or denied, however, the student is released from that commitment and effectively becomes a “free agent” who can pursue other options—including ED at another school. Deferred candidates will be considered again within the context of the Regular Decision review process.
Who Benefits?
Whereas it has been a long-held notion that ED was reserved for only the very best candidates, it is now the case that “reasonably competitive” candidates can also benefit from the ED option as colleges seek to build their enrollments with “high yielding” students. In addition, ED will be an attractive option at many schools for the following:
- Students who do not require financial assistance
- Athletic recruits
- Legacy candidates
Lynn’s take on Early Decision
I wanted to mention that students can have an advantage applying Early Decision. They often don’t have to be as strong a candidate as long as they are willing to disregard all other college choices to attend the ED school.
ED is best for students who know, beyond any doubt, that they want to go to a particular school. These students won’t suffer buyer’s remorse if they have to toss all other colleges from consideration. Early decision also often favors rich students who aren’t worried about what kind of financial aid or merit scholarships they may or may not receive.
That said, if a student applies ED and the financial aid package is woefully inadequate, a student can withdraw his or her ED application. Before bailing, a student should contact the school and see if he/she can obtain more aid.
Here are some of my previous posts on Early Decision:
Taking a Chance on an Early Decision
The Odds of Applying Early Decision
Case Study: Applying Early Decision
Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price.