College applicants who have a strong opinion about their first choice of school and want to make a binding commitment to that school can choose early decision. The application deadline is pushed forward with this option, allowing the college to make an admissions decision sooner than it would otherwise. If a student is accepted on the basis of early decision, he or she must attend.
This option is not available at all colleges and universities. An early decision application can result in one of three outcomes for those who apply. The first is rejection, which means the student will not be admitted because the application did not meet the admissions committee’s requirements. Another option is acceptance, which means the student has been accepted and the paperwork for matriculation can begin. Deferral is the third option, in which the student is not admitted to the program but will be considered during the regular admissions round. The application is not considered binding if a deferral results in admission under regular admissions, and the student may choose to attend another college.
Early decision can help to alleviate some of the pressures of senior year. Knowing that he or she has been accepted under a binding contract, a senior may choose to take challenging courses in the spring of his or her senior year without fear of negative consequences for college admissions. Students who are concerned about having to wait a long time to hear from colleges will be relieved to learn that admissions, rejections, and deferrals are issued in mid-December, whereas other students may have to wait until March or April to hear from colleges.
Filling out an early decision application has the disadvantage of being legally binding. If a student is undecided about where he or she wants to go, this restricts options because once accepted, the student has no other options. While early decision is a great option for students who know exactly where they want to go and are confident in their first choice, students who are considering multiple options should use regular decision.
Early action is an alternative to early decision in which students can apply and receive an admissions decision as soon as possible, but the decision is not binding. Students who apply early decision can only apply to one school; students who apply early action can apply to multiple schools. Single choice early action is another variant that requires students to apply to only one school via early action, but the decision is still not binding. Students who apply to colleges through early decision or early action programs are free to apply to as many colleges as they want under regular admission.