My daughter is looking at places like Purdue, Virginia Tech, places like those. She is very unlikely to go into heavy sciences or engineering. Can anyone explain how early action works? Can she use it for getting into a humanities major like education (just for example, not sure if it will be that for sure)? She is legacy at both Purdue and Virginia Tech with my hubby so that is partly why we were considering those. She is only in middle school so have time to figure it out all out. Hoping to find out most of my info online instead of spending thousands of dollars at the college planning companies, shocked how much my friends are spending! Where is a good explanation of the pros/cons? I’m not sure how many colleges she truly wants to apply to yet, but even with the search so far, we have only seen 12 that seem like that might be a true fit and looks promising majors,location wise for her and not so crazy hard to get into. We are not looking at anything ivy league or UCLA types.
Early action/decision is just a way for a student to receive an early response to their application. The difference between early action (EA) and early decision (ED) is that ED is binding, which means that any student accepted under ED MUST attend the college barring any financial reasons. EA is non-binding, meaning that students can apply to other colleges and decide by May 1st — however, some schools have restrictions of where a student can apply early action (for example, single choice early action, or SCEA). Applications for early are usually due by November 1st of senior year.
Early action simply means that the student applies early, usually in November, and hears back from the school early, usually before the holidays. It isn’t binding like early decision, in which you are expected to enroll in the school if they accept you. With early action you can go on to apply to other schools if you want. It’s helpful in that if you are accepted into your top choice with early action, it saves you from having to apply to other schools, which can be a blessing during the crazy senior year.
Things change. The answer today might easily morph by the time your student is a senior. [Since your student is still in middle school, how she applies via a given schools’ process is not as important as doing well in her course work now.]
That said, here’s the current answer about EA/ED.
Schools, both public and private, make the decision about how and when a student can apply individually.
A student would need to read the fine print on any early option.
Early Action - which is non-binding - is offered as a way to attract students who are well prepared to submit their applications early (usually November 1 or so, with an offer date of December 15 or so), but still hope to make their choices and compare FinAid offers through April, but not commit until they head back from their regular decision (RD) schools. Students can apply to as many EA schools as they want, with the exception being those schools (Stanford, etc.) who regulate through some variation of a Single Choice Early Action option.
Early Decision - which is binding - requires a student apply during the same early time frame (usually November 1 or so, with an offer date of December 15) and sign a contract that their parents and HS counselor co-sign, which states that if accepted, they will attend. A deposit is generally required two to three weeks after the student has been notified of their admission. The only way to wiggle out is if the students finances just don’t cut it. At that point, if the student withdraws, it’s game over for that school. While some schools can provide a bit of an admission bump for borderline ED candidates, a family needs to make sure that it understands the impact of loosing the ability to compare financial offers on their finances.
Some schools reward the EA applicants with larger merit awards (Tulane, Case, etc.). Some students simply prefer to get the process over with early and have an admission in their pocket. Some will use an EA strategy to secure a safe school, then apply to reach schools knowing that they have a solid place.
An EA student adheres to the same May 1 National Candidate Reply Date as the RD or rolling admission student.
Remember, things can change and your mileage may vary…
The four main ways to apply to a school are:
–Regular Decision - There is a RD due date for the application and a RD reply date
–Early Action - There is an EA due date for the application and an EA reply date. These dates are earlier than the RD dates. There is no obligation on the part of the student to attend a college he/she gets into EA.
–Early Decision - There is an ED due date and an ED reply date. These dates are earlier than RD dates. In order to apply ED the student/parents must sign a form guaranteeing that the student will attend that school if accepted under ht ED program (with rare outs)
–Rolling Decision – Basically schools review and decide on applications in the order received.
There are some other things like modified rolling etc., but these are the main ones. Different schools offer different options and will have different deadlines. Each school typically lays their application types/dates etc. out pretty clearly in the admission page of the website.
Post #4 lists the the different ways that schools manage their admittance process. This is by school, not by major. Schools will differ on whether they admit directly to a major or into a general education program but that will be true regardless of which EA/ED/RD/Rolling/SCEA procedure the school follows.
The only situation I can think of that may be outside these is admittance to some very competitive programs like BA/MD. But even there, the applicant has usually already been admitted to the school under one of the above admittance cycles.
Just FYI, unless you live in Virginia or Indiana, you would pay out of state tuition for either school. Not sure if you have looked at tuition, room & board, and fees yet, but it may shock you.
Personally… I wouldn’t worry about the legacy factor at all. I’d look for schools strong in what she is interested in. Once she is a sophomore in high school, get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and look at option.
Thank you for the clarification! My daughter and her friends are talking bout colleges and possible careers, just talking and of course at a middle school maturity level particularly in relation to people who they know (mostly older siblings) who are going, the process of getting in, etc. When I chat with the other moms at pick up time it is a topic of hot discussion (many of them have older kids and telling me lots of college mistakes they feel their older child has made) Some of the stories I hear make me feel like I need to gather the info earlier rather than later… Most of the families ended up hiring someone to help the last year and some paid someone to help for all 4 years. I was hoping to avoid that cost by doing some research ahead of time. My daughter is our oldest so no frame of reference except from back when I went and let’s just say that was a whole different world! We have been discussing what she “thinks” she likes doing. More interested in lower level science (likes science Olympiad but the more fun events, less of the study ones), English, history, etc. Also discussing where she might want to live after college. She already has strong opinions on that : )
Just FYI I have looked at a few college listing type books at the library with her so have a ballpark idea of costs.
Hang here, and you’ll learn what you need to know for free – including who to listen to. And obsess here, if you must, and not in front of your kid. It’s way too early to start putting any of your stuff on her. And she will change. Both of my boys thought they knew which college they would attend in eighth grade. Ha! Ds2 didn’t even apply there.
I have a college freshman and a muddle schooler. DS, the middle schooler, is aware of colleges and expects to go to one but aside from that we haven’t discussed colleges at all. He and his older sister have talked about his future plans (according to his sister), but we parents haven’t said or heard anything about them.
DD talked about colleges with friends when they were in middle school but it was the “I want to go to Harvard” type except DD said “Why Harvard? I don’t think I want to live in MA.” While some middle schoolers absolutely know where they want to go, what they want to study and the adults around them agree and that scenario comes to pass, I don’t think that’s the norm. When I look back, DD is studying something totally different in a place no one expected. I agree with YDS, if you must talk about college, come here, Let your child talk but leave them alone otherwise.
CC is a great place to learn things. It is a tad early but time goes by fast. When I discovered CC when DD was a high school sophomore I felt it was a bit late. I can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars on college planning. One thing that did help us was DD having friends one year ahead of her - we learned from their actions and both kids and parents often had good suggestions for DD in particular.
Back before I knew CC existed, I found that it helped to have 1-2 friends with older children who had been through the process to touch base with and learn from. People who had recently been through the process and could provide some pragmatic direction and answers.
You’re doing the right thing. I discovered CC when my oldest was a freshman-sophomore in HS and it was a very steep learning curve - but very worthwhile ! Friends definitely help, but then you are getting the limited opinion and experience of people you know and like.
The more time you spend on CC the more you’ll appreciate the vast experience of the multitude of parents who are happy to provide information and point you in the right direction.
For now, check out forums that interest you, bookmark your favorites or just follow the “latest posts” every few days and you’ll be well on your way to being the most informed parent possible.
No, it is not too early to start thinking about college in MS if it is done is a light and informational way.
You are so far ahead of the game that I actaully think you should just come back in a year:-) I hired a private advisor. She was somewhat useful, but because I had already spent all my waking hours on CC, she mainly confirmed what I knew. If you educate yourself, you do not need a private advisor. I think it is way too soon to buy a guide book. Info changes and gets updated. Reputations can go up or down. Colleges change, the student body changes, your kid will change A LOT. Way too early, IMO. Some of the colleges my kid was very interested in at the beginning of junior year were a distant memory by the time she finalized her list in October. And even then, there are two colleges out of the twelve that I would say she has lost interest in. When time comes, refine the list, and keep refining. I firmly believe that no kid needs to apply to more than ten colleges. The one thing I do suggest your child can think about next school year is applying for scholarships. There are lots open to grade 9, and if she gets them, it is a nice thing to add to a college application.
And obsess here, if you must, and not in front of your kid. It’s way too early to start putting any of your stuff on her. And she will change. Both of my boys thought they knew which college they would attend in eighth grade. Ha! Ds2 didn’t even apply there.