Early Decision and Early Action

Applying to College
1

Hey! So I was just trying to understand more about early action and early decision. I was under the impression that if you apply ED to a school(that offers ED of course) then you cannot apply to any other schools early, be it an ED school or an EA school. However, I was reading an article on petersons.com and I read the following-
“the area of admission plans has become increasingly complex, and the rules depend on the college. Some Early Decision colleges (offering the binding ED plan) do allow you to apply to other colleges Early Action (non-binding) while others don’t. Some Early Action (EA) colleges allow students to apply to other EA schools, but others don’t. Some allow EA, but not an ED. Applications to public universities under rolling admission plans (non-binding) are usually not prohibited. Therefore, make sure to check the fine print on the school’s website and in the application materials for each college.”

In the first sentence it mentions ED schools allowing you to apply EA to other EA schools. What would be an example of such a school? I couldn’t really find one. Thanks!

Heres the article for reference-
https://www.petersons.com/college-search/ask-experts-early-decision.aspx

2

Here’s the Common App ED agreement. It specifically allows you to apply other places at the same time. If you’re accepted ED, the agreement requires you to withdraw pending applications and not to submit new ones. http://admissions.duke.edu/images/uploads/process/ED_agreement.pdf

So here’s my take. If you’re applying ED to a Common App school and they have you use the Common App ED agreement, you are free to submit other applications EA. If you’re applying ED to a school that’s not on the Common, read their ED agreement carefully.

If you think about it, there’s no reason for an ED school not to permit simultaneous EA applications. If you apply ED, you’re committed. Sending in some EA applications doesn’t change that. All it does is possibly improve your chances at some of your back up plans.

3

You need to check the requirements of each school, not withstanding the Common App language, For instance here is Duke’s language:

http://admissions.duke.edu/application/timeline