{"id":1318,"date":"2018-09-13T10:51:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T10:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/13\/early-action-vs-early-decision\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T19:25:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T19:25:52","slug":"early-action-vs-early-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrokids.com\/early-action-vs-early-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Action vs. Early Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s the fall of your daughter’s senior year.<\/p>\n
Together you’ve researched schools, attended campus tours, and worked to narrow down a long list of colleges to a handful of top choices.<\/p>\n
She is ready to crank out those applications, but you wonder: Should she apply early admission?<\/p>\n
According to College Board, about 450 colleges offer the admission plans. The most common options are known as early decision and early action. You need to understand the differences between the two before you can decide if one of them is right for your child.<\/p>\n
Our experts had these suggestions:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The school is clearly your top choice.<\/p>\n
You can afford to attend without financial aid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You are seriously considering more than one school.<\/p>\n
Your grade-point average already meets the school’s requirements.<\/p>\n
You don’t plan to take the SAT or ACT again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You want your senior-year grades reflected in your GPA.<\/p>\n
You want to retake the SAT or ACT.<\/p>\n
You need more time to research and visit schools. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Early decision is binding, requiring a commitment to attend the school if you are admitted. For this reason, you may only apply to one school early decision. The deadline typically falls on or around Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
According to Maureen B. Mathis, director of admission at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia<\/a>, which offers both early decision and early action, early decision is for “students who know the school is their clear first choice and that comparing financial aid offers is not a part of their college search.<\/p>\n “The benefit to early decision is that your college search can be completed by either late December or early January,” Mathis says. “You can then relax and enjoy the remainder of your senior year.”<\/p>\n Applying through early decision or early action increases the chance of admission, Mathis adds. “Since early decision is a commitment to attend, an admissions committee is more willing to admit if the student is committed. ”<\/p>\n Lisa Street, counselor at Brandywine High School <\/a>in Wilmington, DE, agrees that applying early increases a candidate’s chances “as long as they are a good fit for that school. That round of kids is only competing against other early-decision kids, so it’s a tough group, but a smaller one.”<\/p>\n However, there are potential downsides to applying early, Street notes.<\/p>\n “The student is committing to attend regardless of the financial aid offered by the school and some families may not be as equipped to subsidize the net cost left uncovered by the federal and school financial-aid packages,” Street says.<\/p>\n She also cautions that students who feel pressured to meet early deadlines when they are not completely ready “could suffer from a poorly written essay, proofreading errors, and other avoidable application mistakes which could cost them admission.”<\/p>\n Joseph Tagliaferro, coordinator of student support services at Abington Senior High School<\/a> in Abington, PA, advises students and their parents to work closely with their school counselors when deciding how to apply.<\/p>\n “If a student really has a strong interest in a college and he knows this is his top choice, and if paying for college is something the family has a plan for, then early decision is a good option,” Tagliaferro advises.<\/p>\n Early action is non-binding and most colleges will allow you to apply to multiple schools this way. Deadlines to submit applications under early action also fall on or around Nov. 1.<\/p>\n Jim Plunkett, executive director of admissions at La Salle University<\/a> in Philadelphia, which offers early action, says it is for the most serious student — someone who has done his research on the schools, is very interested in that school and wants to get his applications finished.<\/p>\n “It gives that peace of mind of knowing that before the New Year they are going to hear from the school early action,” says Plunkett. “They’re not committed to going to that school.”<\/p>\nWhat is early action?<\/h2>\n