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Everything You Need to Know About Early Decision vs. Early Action
By
Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.
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Maria Geiger is Director of Scholarship Services at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Early decision and early action are college application plans that offer applicants an earlier response. However, early decision is a binding decision while early action is non-binding. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about early decision vs early action!
Types of college application plans
When applying to colleges, you will be forced to make lots of different choices. One of the biggest choices for students is which application plan to use. Typically, colleges offer a range of application plans that all have different timelines, pros, and cons.
While Regular Decision is the typical application plan with a January deadline and March response date for decisions, you may notice other application plans such as Early Decision and Early Action.
Applying under an early application plan is a big decision and you’ll want to understand the differences between Early Decision vs. Early Action. Keep on reading to learn everything you need to know about these popular early application plans.
What is Early Action?
Early Action is an application plan that has an earlier timeline than Regular Decision. This timeline usually looks like this:
- Application Deadline: Generally November 1st or November 15th (but some colleges like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Georgia Tech will have an October 15th deadline)
- Decision Notification: You will receive your decision anytime between December and February.
The other big thing to know about Early Action is that it is a non-binding process. This means that if you apply Early Action to a college and are accepted, you are not bound to attend (this is not the case with Early Decision, but we will get to that later).
You might also come across a few other versions of Early Action called Single Choice Early Action or Restricted Early Action. Both of these types of Early Action have restrictions associated with them. For instance, they may prevent you from applying Early Decision or Early Action to certain colleges.
Related: Early decision and early action notification dates for the class of 2028
Does Early Action increase the chances of admission?
This is a tough question, and may vary school-to-school. Some colleges prioritize Early Action applicants, as applying early action shows initiative. They may also be able to give out more generous financial aid during the Early Action process. Harvard’s admissions statistics are nearly three times higher for early applications.
So, while Early Action may have benefits at many schools, it may be an even more rigorous admissions process at other schools. Rather than an improved chance of admission, the main advantage of Early Action is to give you a picture of your options earlier rather than later.
Bottom line about Early Action
Early Action can be a great option for students who want to apply to a college “early” without a binding commitment. If you see Single Choice Early Action or Restricted Early Action, you will want to get details about the actual restrictions that you are agreeing to. The best place to find these details is on the admissions website of the college in question.
Expert Perspective
Jack Wang | Wealth Advisor, Innovative Advisory Group
Related: When should you take the SAT or ACT?
What is Early Decision?
Now that we’ve discussed Early Action, let’s talk about Early Decision, which is the other big early application option.
The Early Decision timeline tends to be a bit more condensed than the Early Action timeline and will look something like this:
- Application Deadline: Generally November 1st or November 15th
- Decision Notification: You will receive your decision during the first few weeks of December.
Unlike Early Action, Early Decision is a binding process which means that you are agreeing to attend the college or university if admitted. Keep reading to learn more about why this can be a good move.
Don’t miss: What happens if you are accepted early decision and change your mind?
What about Early Decision 2?
You might also come across something called Early Decision 2, which is a second round of Early Decision that some colleges offer. Early Decision 2 works the same way as Early Decision, but has a slightly different timeline. Students need to submit their applications by January 1st or January 15th and will typically hear back in early to mid-February about final acceptance decisions.
Bottom line about Early Decision
Early Decision should be reserved for students who are 100% sure that the college they are considering is a place they want to attend. While students will receive an admissions “bump” from an ED application, that advantage comes with a promise that you, your parent/guardian and counselor need to make in writing.
The downside to ED is that you won’t get to weigh different financial aid options. You can check out this post about ED and financial aid to learn more about what this can mean for you.
Expert Perspective
Sara Petty | Director of Pre-College Success at TeenSHARP, Independent College Counselor
Why should students consider Early Action or Early Decision?
So you might be wondering, why would a student agree to a binding admissions plan like Early Decision? Wouldn’t it be better to weigh your options and apply to lots of colleges?
Well, there is a very big reason why many students apply for Early Decision. By agreeing to attend the college if admitted, the college admissions office will generally give you extra consideration. At most colleges and universities, the Early Decision acceptance rate is higher than the general acceptance rate.
The other benefit to both Early Decision and Early Action is that you will get your decisions sooner! The admissions process can be a stressful one and it can feel good to either be done sooner or have some college options earlier on in the process. Plus, an earlier timeline is a great way to force yourself to finish work earlier on in the process.
Questions students should ask before applying Early Action or Early Decision
You should not make the decision to apply Early Action and especially Early Decision lightly. Here are some questions that students, parents, and guardians can ask themselves before actually pulling the trigger on submitting an Early Decision or Early Action app:
Am I 100% sure this is the college I want to attend if I am considering Early Decision?
Early Decision is a binding process, so you should be 100% certain that the college is the right one for you. Remember, you shouldn’t have any major doubts and should have thoroughly researched the college, assessed whether it will be a good financial fit through the Net Price Calculator, and toured the campus in person.
If you have any doubts, you might be better off holding off until Regular Decision.
Also see: How to choose a college
Do I feel confident about my academic record?
One of the downsides of Early Decision and Early Action that are less discussed is that you will not be able to submit a full semester’s worth of grades before applying. So if you had a rough junior year or have an up and down high school record overall, it can be a good move to have a full set of fall semester grades to submit.
Same goes for your test scores—if you are planning on taking certain fall tests for the SAT or ACT, you may not be able to submit in time for Early Decision or Early Action. You can check in with the college admissions office for more details about this.
Related: Do colleges use weighted or unweighted GPA?