Early Action vs. Early Decision: Pros and Cons and What Your Child Should Do
/Everything you and your child need to know to make the right choice when it comes to applying to colleges early
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Part 1: Introduction
The start of college application season brings with it a lot of stress and tons of major questions, including:
How many reach, target, and safety schools should your child include on their college list?
How many schools should your child apply to in total?
When should your child begin working on their college applications?
Whom should your child ask to write their recommendation letters?
And so on.
Another one of these massively important questions—and associated decisions—is whether your child should apply to college through early action and early decision programs. Crucially, does early action give you a better chance?
Before we discuss how you and your child should approach this decision, we’ll compare early action and early decision head-to-head across four categories:
Deadlines and decision dates
Obligation to attend
Admission odds
Financial aid
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Part 2: Early action vs. early decision: How do they compare?
Deadlines and decision dates
Early action programs allow your child to apply to colleges by an early deadline—most commonly November 1 or November 15—and receive admissions decisions sometime in December or January, way before regular decision applicants.
Similarly, early decision programs allow your child to apply to college early—also usually in November—and receive an admission decision before regular decision applicants.
Both early action and early decision offer the potential for your child to complete their college application process ahead of time—even before the holidays (!)—and put an end to the associated stress.
However, if your child’s ACT/SAT score or GPA does not meet or exceed the admissions profile for colleges on their early action and early decision list, it would make sense for them to hold off on applying early. Instead, they should devote more attention to improving their test scores and grades. That way, your child can apply via regular decision with their best foot forward.
Obligation to attend
Early action decisions are non-binding, meaning your child will not be obligated to enroll in the school(s) they’re accepted to. Therefore, your child can apply to as many schools early action as they would like.
On the other hand, early decision programs are binding, meaning your child will be obligated to attend the school they’re accepted to as long as the financial aid package is considered adequate by your family (more on this below). Because of early decision’s binding nature, students are allowed to apply to only one school’s early decision.
Your child may simultaneously apply to early decision and early action programs. However, if they get into the early decision program, they’ll have to withdraw all other applications.
(Note: Some colleges offer single-choice early action programs, also called “restrictive early action,” which operate in the usual way that early action programs do, except for the fact that your child cannot apply anywhere else via early action or early decision. In other words, they are non-binding, but you can only apply to one.)
Admission odds
Generally speaking, early action programs do not significantly increase your child’s odds of getting into colleges, especially at highly selective schools. They simply allow your child to find out sooner whether or not they’ve gotten in. Moreover, if your child is not accepted early action, their application will likely get deferred to the regular decision pool and will be evaluated once more. The third possible outcome is that your child’s application will be rejected outright.
Admission rates for early decision programs are somewhat higher than early action and regular decision programs. By applying early decision, your child will be demonstrating much-appreciated serious interest in their top-choice college. And because the decision is binding, the school will be protecting their yield rate (i.e., the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll there), which factors into college rankings.
Another possible reason for higher early decision admission rates is that early decision applicants often, on average, have stronger grades, standardized test scores, and overall applications relative to the regular decision pool. This may also apply to elite colleges that offer single-choice early action, such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
(Suggested reading: Ivy League Acceptance Rates: What You're Up Against)
Financial aid
If your child is accepted to multiple schools via early action, your family will have the opportunity to compare financial aid packages and make the decision that fits your budget and goals.
Conversely, because early decision programs are binding, your child will not be able to choose among other schools that may have offered more financial aid and, consequently, a lower net cost.
Nevertheless, there is one well-known way to get released from the early decision bind. Specifically, if the net cost of the college is completely unaffordable for your family, you can ask the admissions committee to release your child from the obligation to attend there. Colleges are typically gracious about this.
However, financial aid should be considered when developing your child’s college list, not just after they’ve been admitted. To get an estimate of how much it will cost your family for your child to attend a particular college, your family should calculate Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and use Net Price Calculators (NPC).
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Part 3: Early action vs. Early Decision: Pros and cons
Let’s summarize the differences between early action and early decision with a simplified list of pros and cons:
Early Action pros and cons
Pros
Non-binding (i.e., not obligated to enroll)
Your child can receive admission decisions often by the end of December. Therefore, they may not have to complete additional applications with January deadlines and end the college application process early.
Pushes your child to front-load some of their work so they're not completely swamped later, including over the holidays.
Your child can apply to multiple colleges and make a decision on where to attend later.
Your child can compare and negotiate financial aid packages with more flexibility.
Your child’s application can be deferred to the regular decision cycle if not accepted early.
Cons
Does not offer the same increased admission odds as early decision.
Does not allow your child the opportunity to raise their ACT/SAT scores and GPA during the Fall semester of their senior year.
Early Decision pros and cons
Pros
Your child may benefit from increased admissions odds due to colleges’ push to maximize their yield rates—the percentage of admitted students who then choose to attend their school—because it increases their rankings.
If accepted, your child will know early where they'll be attending.
Pushes your child to begin working on their college applications earlier because they'll have to put in their best effort to get into their top-choice school.
Your child’s application can be deferred to the regular decision pool if not accepted early.
Cons
Binding (i.e., obligated to enroll)
Does not allow your child to choose among other schools that may have offered more financial aid and, therefore, a lower net cost.
Your child will have to apply with the ACT/SAT scores and GPA they have achieved up to that point.
What about Early Decision II?
If your child is considering early decision but isn't quite ready to apply by the November 1 deadline, many colleges offer a second early decision option called Early Decision II (ED II).
Early Decision II operates almost identically to Early Decision I, but while ED I deadlines typically fall on November 1, ED II deadlines usually land around January 1 or January 15. Your child will then receive their admissions decision in mid-February, giving them several weeks of advance notice compared to regular decision applicants who typically hear back in late March or early April.
Just like ED I, Early Decision II is typically binding. If your child is accepted through ED II, they're committing to attend that school and must withdraw all other pending applications. The same financial aid considerations also apply and if the financial aid package is simply unaffordable, your family can be released from the binding commitment.
Why do colleges offer Early Decision II?
From the college's perspective, ED II allows them to fill more of their incoming class with committed students, which again protects their yield rate. Second, it gives admissions committees another opportunity to admit highly qualified students who might have applied ED I elsewhere or who needed more time to identify their top choice.
When should your child consider Early Decision II?
Perhaps your child applied Early Decision I to their dream school but was deferred or rejected. Rather than waiting until late March to hear from regular decision schools, they can pivot quickly and apply ED II to another top-choice school, potentially benefiting from improved admission odds.
On the other hand, your child may have used the fall semester to significantly improve their academic profile. Maybe your child brought up their GPA, retook the SAT or ACT, and achieved a higher score, or earned recognition in a competition or research project. ED II allows them to apply with these stronger stats while still registering their commitment to a particular school.
And of course, your child may simply need more time to make an informed decision. Your child might not have visited enough campuses by November 1, or perhaps they needed the fall semester to truly understand which school aligns best with their academic and personal goals. The extra two months can make a big difference in helping them feel secure about a binding commitment.
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Part 4: What your child should do
Your child should apply early action (EA) and/or early decision (ED) if they have:
Thoroughly researched colleges—academically, socially, geographically, and financially. [EA/ED]
Confidently identified a top-choice college that will meet their educational and experiential goals. [ED]
Achieved the requisite grades and ACT/SAT scores for the schools on their list. [EA/ED]
On the other hand, your child should not apply early action (EA) and/or early decision (ED) if they:
Are unsure whether the colleges on their list are a strong match—academically, socially, geographically, and financially. [EA/ED]
Have not confidently identified their first-choice school. [ED]
Do not yet have the requisite grades and test scores for the schools on their list. [EA/ED]
Are applying early just to get the process over with or because their friends are doing it. [EA/ED]
Final thoughts
Applying early action and early decision offers your child several potential advantages vs. applying exclusively through regular decision, such as reduced stress and time spent working on college applications, knowing where they’ll be attending ahead of time, and preparing for college (e.g., finding housing).
On the other hand, applying early has some potential disadvantages, including reduced financial aid opportunities, pressure to decide where to attend, and creating a time crunch with regular decision applications, which are typically due shortly after early admission decisions are released.
As with every other aspect of the college admissions process, the decision of whether or not to apply early depends on your child’s specific background and goals, as well as what their schools of interest offer. Therefore, I encourage your family to thoroughly research every school on your child’s college list before applying to avoid regrets later.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on college admissions. For over 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into top programs like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT using his exclusive approach.
THERE'S NO REASON TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE MED SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE. SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION TO ENSURE YOU LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE.