<p>In a little bit of research I have found/heard that applying early is beneficial in some cases but is also more competitive. Could anyone please explain the differences to me and the pros or cons that come with them? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>In short, always apply early action if the school offers it. You find out earlier and that’s the best thing in the world. Even if you don’t get in early, you’re usually deferred to the regular round anyway. Definitely do it.</p>
<p>Early Decision is if you /absolutely/ have to go to one school because if you get in, you are required to go. The problem is your financial aid usually takes a hit and you can’t compare money with other schools or apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>I do believe there are some provisions in some ED agreements that allow you to get out of it if the financial aid package provided is not sufficient. However I’m not 100% sure on that.</p>
<p>Definitely apply early though. Its cool to know where you’re going in November instead of March. Only “con” is that you have to get your applications done quickly at the start of the year</p>
<p>Early ACTION is a kid’s best friend. Early DECISION is evil.</p>
<p>With early action, if you have acceptances in early December, you might be able to prioritize those acceptances over some of the schools you haven’t actually applied to for regular decision. My son ended up not applying to four or five schools in December when he realized that his EA acceptances were better than some of the schools left on the list. And even though it’s hard to get going so early, many of those essays can be partially or completely reused. I can’t recommend it highly enough.</p>
<p>And rolling admission, in particular, is critical to apply for early - some schools just keep accepting kids until they’re full.</p>