Early Action

[harvardhottie]

<p>Why don't some people just apply to all their colleges early action? Why do most people do just 1 school for EA and the rest are RD... If you do EA won't you be able to find out about college acceptance earlier and get it out of the way??</p>

[drusba]

<p>Stanford, Yale, and now Harvard and Princeton, each prohibit you from applying early action or early decision to any other college if you apply early action to one of them. Many colleges have only binding early decision and not early action and many others have neither. Another reason is that applicants often haven’t yet completed tests needed such as SAT subject to apply EA and need December tests for the particular college while the one to which they apply early action does not require subject tests.</p>

[glassesarechic]

<p>The only schools on my list offering non-restrictive EA were Chicago, Georgetown, and UNC. I think many top applicants do apply to as many as possible EA, but in the uppermost bracket of schools, there’s just not a lot to choose from.</p>

[LoveEducation]

<p>Don’t take me as the final-say but in my research I found that EA was a lot less binding than ED. So I’d say your safest bet is to apply EA anywhere you can, and refrain from ED if you don’t have a “first choice” or if you are in need of fin aid.</p>

<p>Update: Just found this description on College Board</p>

<p>

Early Decision vs. Early Action
You should understand the differences between early decision and early action before sending in your applications. Keep in mind that the rules may vary somewhat by college. Check with your counselor to make sure you understand your rights and obligations. Below are some important facts about the types of early-application plan.</p>

<p>Early decision plans are binding. You agree to attend the college if it accepts you and offers an adequate financial aid package. Although you can apply to only one college for early decision, you may apply to other colleges through the regular admission process. If you’re accepted by your first-choice college early, you must withdraw all other applications.</p>

<p>Early action plans are similar to early decision plans, but are not binding. If you’ve been accepted, you can choose to commit to the college immediately, or wait until the spring. Under these plans, you may also apply early action to other colleges. Usually, you have until the late spring to let the college know your decision.</p>

<p>Single-choice early action is a new option offered by a few colleges. This plan works the same way as other early action plans, but candidates may not apply early (either early action or early decision) to any other college. You can still apply to other colleges under regular decision plans and are not required to give your final answer to the early-application college until the regular decision deadline.

</p>

[vonlost]

<p>As the quote above says, needing financial aid does not mean that ED is only for the well-to-do (but it IS only for the clear number one choice above all other schools).</p>

[texaspg]

<p>There are two others in top 20 that offer unrestricted EA - MIT and Caltech.</p>