Hi Guys,
I don’t know if I should apply early action or regular decision to the majority of the colleges I want to go to.
I was leaning towards regular decision because I’m taking a lot of AP’s senior year (5) and I thought it’d be nice to have my first semester grades for senior year on my transcript (which also might improve my class rank). Also, I wanted to take the SAT in November (even though I already took it and got a 2170) so I can send an even better score.
However, I heard that it’s better to apply early action?
So I’m pretty confused, please help me!!
It depends on what kinds of schools you’re looking at! If you’re applying to a really selective school and don’t feel that your GPA and SAT scores are ready, definitely wait until the RD round. However, applying to EA can give you an advantage (some people don’t agree with this, but I think that there is definitely an advantage). So it all comes down to how much of a reach your #1 school is. At the very least, you could apply to some safeties EA, which would give you a little bit of assurance going into the RD round. Good luck!
I’m having this exact same problem. I’m applying to my safety schools EA - I’m pretty positive I’ll get in, so there’s no need to wait for my first trimester grades or an increase in my GPA. And it’ll be nice to have some acceptances already under my belt when waiting for Regular Decisions.
As for your SAT, I believe collegeboard is offering a date for early October, so you’d get your scores back before EA is due if you retake it then. But even if you take it in November, all you have to do is make a note on your applications that you took the test in November and your scores are forthcoming - most schools allow this, though be sure to check individual policies.
Personally, I decided for my top two schools I would wait and apply RD. Remember that even though the EA pool is smaller, it is also usually made up of more qualified candidates who are confident in their chances. You just have to weigh your chances and hope for the best. Good luck!
While some may apply EA at a safety to have a guaranteed place somewhere, for candidates with a strong portfolio of (grades, scores and ECs) the safety should be one (or ones) which is affordable and where chances of acceptance are very high (think 90+%). So the EA to a safety is to a large extent unnecessary. I recommend that you keep the ED (preferably) and the EA option for the college that is top of your list. For many that college (relative to their scores, grades and EC) is a reach and perhaps a high reach. At some very selective colleges 1/2 the class is selected during the ED round. You’ll typically have a distinct advantage applying ED in such cases. EA (which is non-binding) typically provides a lesser advantage than ED.
bump, I appreciate the responses but I want some more opinions!!
Hello! I applied REA to a very selective school (and my top choice) because although I had reason for waiting (I had done no community service before my senior year and waiting would have given me more to talk about + I took a good amount of AP’s senior year), I wanted the school to know they were my first choice and because the rate was 10% rather than 5% for RD. A lot of super selective schools will defer a huge portion of early applicants so in that way you would get a second chance; however, my school only deferred 8% of EA applicants so know your stats. I was luckily accepted, and there is no real way of knowing if I would have been accepted RD but I like to think college admissions people know what they are doing.
The SAT thing makes the decision hard. Ideally you would want the school to have your better score before making their decision… Tough call. Best of luck!
Just a quick note: Even though that was the only school I could apply to EA, I still submitted an app for another college first because submitting that first app can be scary and you may discover a mistake only after you submit! So my first app submitted was a safety, but it was still technically RD.