Early action vs early decision: Which is right for you?

The pros and cons of early action

Pros:

• You can apply early to any schools that have an early action deadline—there’s no limit
• You’ll receive your college decisions sooner
• You don’t have to commit to a school until May 1
• Fewer students apply early, so you’re competing against a smaller applicant pool
• You have many options for schools with early action deadlines—over 450 schools have early action and/or early decision deadlines according to the College Board^®

Cons:

• You’ll have less time to prepare your application materials in order to meet the early deadline
• Your senior year grades and activities won’t be reflected in your application
• Even though the applicant pool is smaller, the competition may be tougher—early applicants tend to be the strongest applicants

What’s Early Decision?

Like early action, early decision is an application period in early to mid-November (November 1 is a common deadline). The biggest difference is that applying early decision is binding. If you apply to a school early decision, you are required to attend that school if accepted. You’re only allowed to apply to one school early decision, but you can apply to other schools early action simultaneously. If you get rejected, you can apply early action, regular decision, or rolling admission to other schools.

The pros and cons of early decision

Pros:

• You’ll receive your college decisions sooner
• Fewer students apply early, so you’re competing against a smaller applicant pool
• You have many options for schools with early action deadlines—over 450 schools have early action and/or early decision deadlines according to the College Board^®
• You can apply to other schools using other deadlines, like early action, regular decision, or rolling admission

Cons:

• You can only apply early decision to one school
• You won’t get the compare financial aid offers for different schools if you get accepted
• You’ll have less time to prepare your application materials in order to meet the early deadline, and even less time to apply to other schools if you don’t get accepted into your early decision school
• Your senior year grades and activities won’t be reflected in your application
• Even though the applicant pool is smaller, the competition may be tougher—early applicants tend to be the strongest applicants

Making the right choice for you

You might be wondering how to pick one deadline over another. Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Do you have one school you just have to get into, or are you open to a few options? If one school is your only choice, early decision might be for you. If you’re not ready to commit to one school, early action gives you more flexibility.
• Do you want to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools to make your final choice, or are you okay with having one financial aid offer to work with? If you want multiple to compare, then early action would be a good decision. If you’re confident one offer is enough, you may be a good candidate for early decision.
• How’s your GPA? If your GPA is in a good spot, then you could try applying early action or early decision. If you think yours could use a bump, consider holding off and use your senior year to raise your GPA before you send in your applications during a different deadline period.
• Do you want to go to an Ivy League school? Ivy League schools are highly competitive and want the best of the best to attend. Applying early decision may show them that you’re invested in the school and want to have a binding commitment to them, which could up your chances of getting in as opposed to applying early action.

Take your pick

Picking between early action and early decision is an important choice to make. It can also make your life a little bit easier by reducing the amount of time you have to wait for a decision. This can give you more time to research financial aid and the FAFSA^®, scholarships, housing, and everything else you’ll need for college once you’ve been accepted. Take your time completing your applications and deciding which deadline you prefer. No matter which deadline you go with, the one thing you need for both is confidence. You should be proud of all you’ve accomplished thus far and feel good about your chances of getting into any school you want.