Why Early Decision is a great one
Sophie Salem, Staff Writer
As the college season comes to an end, seniors are beginning to reflect on the things they did right and wrong throughout the process. Should I have applied to that school? Should I have done that other essay topic? And most commonly: Is early decision worth it? Well, the answer is yes, students are roughly 10 percent more likely to be accepted to the school of their dreams through early decision.
One of the most common misconceptions in the college admissions process is the difference between early decision and early action. It’s actually quite simple. Early decision applications are binding in that if you get accepted to a certain school, you are required to go. Early action on the other hand is non binding and just gives students an earlier response. So, people often wonder, why would anyone want to do early decision when you can get an early response without any binding obligations? Well, students applying early decision actually have a much higher rate of getting accepted than students that do early action and regular decision. This is due to the fact that applying early decision truly shows a students interest in that they will attend without contemplation if accepted. Though Ariel King (’22) didn’t apply early decision, she wishes she did as there are a lot of benefits.
“I think applying early decision is definitely worth it for people that are really committed to getting into a certain school,” King said.
Ruby Cooper (’22) applied early decision to Tulane University and will be attending in the fall.
“I applied early decision to Tulane because I knew for certain it was the school for me. After doing my research and talking with counselors, we agreed it was the path for me and it heightened my chances of getting into such a good university, and I couldn’t be happier I decided to apply early decision to my dream school,” Cooper said.
As the decision is binding, the school itself is protecting their yield rate which is a huge factor in terms of college rankings. This leads to the fact that some schools only offer early decision and not early action. Again, this ensures students attend their school without any other options. This way, universities are able to collect more net tuition revenue from students.
When accepted through early decision, there is no backing out, which has proven to be a huge downside for some. Most importantly, applying early decision ensures that the student will pay the tuition before receiving any scholarships or financial aid. Say you were to apply early action or regular decision, you have the opportunity to compare financial aid packages before reaching a verdict. With early decision, you don’t have a choice when it comes to cost. Now, given that most early decision applications are due between November and December, this doesn’t give students a chance to raise their ACT or SAT from a later test date. Other applications are due early the following year which gives students more time to take another standardized test to help their application.
The fact that early decision is binding and doesn’t leave you with any other options makes it difficult for many students to commit to. So many students ask; why not just do early action when you will be given the chance to go over your options? Well, early action lets you go over what options are best for you including getting your decision earlier, but when it comes to a discussion on which option is best, early decision is probably the best way to go to fulfill the one’s dreams.
In the end, it comes to the student and whether they are capable of committing to early decision. It is necessary to go over the pros and cons with one’s family to ensure that it is the right fit for you, nonetheless, it is definitely worth it. If students have their heart set on a certain school, early decision is absolutely necessary to increase their chances.
Acceptance rates at selective schools such as the Ivies increase significantly for early decision applicants.