Colleges and universities have a variety of admission types available for prospective students. What are they, and how do you decide which is the best one to choose?

One type of admission is called “Early Decision” or “ED.” Early Decision is a binding agreement the prospective students makes with the college or university. The hopeful student agrees up front to go to that particular college or university if admitted. Before applying Early Decision to a college or university, students must be sure of their choice. This type of admission is only appropriate if the particular school is the students’ number one choice. Students can apply to other schools, but they can only apply to one school for Early Decision.  Also, if the student applies ED and is admitted, the student must withdraw all other applications. One benefit of applying for Early Decision is that it can increase your chances of getting admitted. Admission rates are higher because there are fewer applicants applying for Early Decision. 

By applying for Early Decision, a student is telling the college or university that their school is the student’s top choice. Some colleges or universities may also offer students some perks, such as choice housing, classes, or parking, if they apply for Early Decision. However, by applying Early Decision at one college or university, the student may not find out if they could have gotten into other schools. If a student applies for Early Decision and is not admitted, the college or university will often defer a decision on the application and consider it again during the regular admission process. This deferral releases the student from the binding agreement with the school, so even if admitted later during regular admission, the student can decline admission.  

Another type of admission some colleges and universities offer is called “Early Action” or “EA.” Students applying for Early Action must typically submit their application by mid-October or early November. A benefit is that instead of learning the decision on the student’s application in the spring, students applying for EA usually receive the school’s decision in December or January. The main difference between Early Decision and Early Action is the binding commitment to enroll. Candidates who apply for Early Action may decline the offer if accepted. Also, students can often apply to more than one college or university for Early Action and EA has higher admission rates than regular admission. In addition, EA allows students an opportunity to compare financial aid packages. When students are not admitted for Early Action, many colleges or universities will automatically reconsider the application with the pool of candidates for regular admission. If students know certain schools are on the top of their list, EA may be a good choice because they will know where they are going to college sooner and have less stress during the rest of senior year.

A third type of college admission is Regular Decision. Applying for Regular Decision gives students more time to perfect their essays and application. The Regular Decision application deadlines are later, possibly December or January. Students who want the opportunity to retake their ACT or SAT, and hopefully boost their scores, may decide to apply for Regular Decision because of the extra time. Those higher test scores might improve the chances of admission but can also improve chances for scholarships. Many students might also use the extra time allowed by a Regular Decision application to think about what they want to study in college. A downside to a Regular Decision application is that students may not hear back from the college or university on admission until the spring, making for a nervous senior year.

There are several options for when to apply to colleges and universities. AHS students should think about the choices ahead of time, weigh the pros and cons, decide which option is best for them, and then have their application and essays ready to meet the deadlines.