Question: Will applying Early Decision to a college increase my chances of being accepted?
Answer: The simple answer is “yes.” Then again, if you’ve been following this column, you are aware that seldom is anything simple in college admission.
Let’s begin with some definitions: Early Decision (ED) is a binding application plan where a student agrees that, if admitted, they will withdraw all other pending applications and enroll at that college. Applicants can only apply ED to one school at a time and the first round of deadlines are usually on either Nov. 1 or Nov. 15. If a student is denied ED, then they have the option of applying to another school during the second round of ED that some colleges have in early January.
Early Action (EA) is a similar, yet nonbinding, application plan with deadlines usually in October or November. Students applying EA learn of a decision before applicants in the regular pool and, except for a few schools that have restrictive policies, students can apply to as many schools as they wish through this plan.
Let’s be clear, ED primarily benefits colleges. The selectivity and reputation of a college partly hinge on their “yield” – the percentage of admitted students who accept their offer. With ED, the yield is nearly 100% (a few students might have to back out for financial reasons). Therefore, some schools that have ED use it to fill over half of their incoming class. ED applicant pools tend to be smaller than the number of students applying through Regular Decision (RD).
Therefore, if a college is admitting a large percentage of their class in the early round with a smaller application pool, inevitably the acceptance rate is higher during ED. In fact, at some highly selective colleges, the acceptance rate for ED can be double that of RD.
If you’re still following me, raise your hand. Now bury your face in that hand, because here comes the “yes … and” part of the answer, where things become less simple. Typically, recruited athletes are pushed into the ED pool if they are going to receive a coach’s support with their application for admission. At many small liberal arts colleges, a third of all admitted students are recruited athletes and at Ivy League schools it’s around 20%. Similarly, legacy applicants are often encouraged to apply early if they are going to get a bump for their parents or another relative having attended the school (these are serious equity issues that I will leave for a future column). Furthermore, some first-generation and low-income students who are admitted to a college through access organizations like Questbridge or the Posse Scholars program are included in ED acceptances. So, you can see, that for an applicant who doesn’t have a specific “hook” in admission, numbers can be deceiving and ED might not be as significant of an advantage as it looks on the surface.
Do your homework if you are considering an ED application and ask the admission office specific questions about the possible benefit of applying early, or not. A student should only apply through this binding program if they feel confident that the school is the right match. In a year when applicants have often not been able to visit college campuses, this might be more challenging to discern than usual. You should not force yourself to make a premature decision just because the odds may be better. However, if you have fallen in love with a specific college, applying ED will send a strong message about your interest in that school and your commitment to enroll.
Do you have a question about college admission, the impact of the pandemic, and applications? Submit them to news@cmonitor.com.
Brennan Barnard is the Director of College Counseling and Outreach at The Derryfield School and the College Admission Program Advisor at The Making Caring Common project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is co-author of the book, “The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together.”