EARLY DECISION / EARLY ACTION

As guidance counselors, we make the families we work with acutely aware of a continuing trend in college admissions; the use of early decision programs to fill a sizable portion of a college's incoming freshmen. By taking a large portion of the class from the early applicant pool, the statistical chances of later admission become far smaller. In December 1997, the New York Times reported that "For the first time ever, Harvard College has accepted more than half of its class early, Columbia College 45%, Dartmouth and Yale 35%, and the University of Virginia more than 30%.

By the Spring of 2000, Hamilton College reported taking 41% of its incoming freshmen from the early programs, Muhlenberg 55%, Wesleyan 40%, and Skidmore 36%. More than a third of Swarthmore's class of 2005 was accepted early as was 43% of the University of Pennsylvania. The claim for such programs is that a student who has clearly decided on a first choice is rewarded (if accepted early) by having the suspense lifted in December. He can relax and focus on his studies. The colleges, on the other hand, can lock-in that group of students without worrying about which accepted students will subsequently enroll in their school.

The question for students and their parents is not so much does applying early decision improve a student's chance of acceptance, but by how much? An article by James Fallows entitled "The Early-Decision Racket" in the September, 2001 issue of the Atlantic Monthly includes the following: "Last fall Christopher Avery, of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and several colleagues produced smoking-gun evidence that they do. The authors analyzed five years' worth of admissions records from fourteen selective colleges, involving a total of 500,000 applications, and interviewed 400 college students, sixty high school seniors, and thirty-five counselors. They found that at the Early Decision schools an early application was worth as much in the competition for admission as scoring 100 extra points on the SAT. For instance, a student with a combined SAT score of 1400-1490 (out of 1600) who applied early was as likely to be accepted as a regular admission student scoring 1500 to 1600. An Early Decision student scoring 1200 to 1290 was more likely to be accepted than a regular student scoring 1300 to 1390.

The equivalent of a 100 point increase in SAT scores makes an enormous difference in an applicant's chances. especially for a mid-1400s candidate." These statistics were generated before the new SAT became available.

We will end this section with a final quote from Mr. Fallows: "It is important to mention a reality check here, which is that American colleges as a whole are grossly unselective. Of the country's 3,000 plus colleges, all but a hundred take most of the students who apply."

The College Board has some helpful definitions and insights on these programs, and we have provided that information below.

(This comes from The College Board’s own web site)

What is Early Decision? Early decision plans allow you to apply early (usually in November)and get an admission decision from the college well in advance of the usual notification date. But there is a catch. Early decision plans are "binding," meaning if you apply as an early decision candidate, you agree to attend the college if it accepts you and offers an adequate financial aid package. Although you can apply to only one college for early decision, you may apply to other colleges under regular admission. If you're accepted by your first-choice college early, you must withdraw all other applications. Usually, colleges insist on a nonrefundable deposit well in advance of May 1.
When You Should... You should only apply under an early decision plan if you are very, very sure of the college you want to attend. These plans make a lot of sense if one college is your clear preference and if your profile closely matches that of the students at that college.
When You Should Not... Do not apply under an early decision plan if you plan to weigh offers and financial aid packages from several colleges later in the spring. And, you shouldn't apply early if it is to your advantage to have more of your senior year work to show a college. If you plan to woo an admission office with your excellent grades this year, you may want to wait until after the semester ends to apply to colleges.

What is Early Action? Early action plans are similar to early decision plans in that you can learn early in the admissions cycle (usually in January or February) whether a college has accepted you. But unlike early decision, most early action plans are not binding, meaning you do NOT have to commit to college to which you've applied for early action. Under these plans, you may apply to multiple colleges and compare offers of admission and financial aid. Usually, you can let the college know of your decision in the late spring or as soon as you've made up your mind. Be sure to read carefully the college's guidelines before applying under an early action plan. Each plan differs and some colleges may want you to commit to the school before the spring. Because early action is similar to early decision, the reasons why you should or should not apply under early action are basically the same.
When You Should...You should only apply under an early action plan if you are sure of the college you want to attend. Although early action is not binding, by applying early to colleges you are telling them that you have a true interest in their school.
When You Should Not...You should not apply under an early action plan if you are unsure that you want to attend that college and you do not fit the profile of the average applicant. One downside to applying both early decision and early action is that if you get turned down by the college in December, the holidays can be pretty depressing. And you may become extra stressed until you do get accepted later that spring.

What is early admission? Don't confuse early decision and early action plans with early admission. Some colleges offer early admission to exceptional high school students who wish to enter college on completion of their junior year. Final requirements for the high school diploma are completed during their first-year at college. This is clearly not for everybody -- you must be very bright and very mature.

Home