<p>Today UVA announced that it will join Harvard and Princeton in eliminating the early decision option in their application process. I could not help but wonder what the impact will be on the appointment process at USNA. In the past, we have had a number of posters to CC that had received admission to some of the elite schools under early action as well as their appointment. I can foresee that students will end up waiting until April to either accept or reject their appointment if they are also evaluating NROTC options at one of the elite schools. This could result in appointments being offered in mid to late April for slots made available by those that make the decision to attend civilian schools. Just a thought.</p>
<p>There are a number of candidates who apply Early Decision to a civilian school (where there is, at least in theory, a requirement to accept an offer of admission). This hurts the Academies, which can't guarantee admission as early due to noms, medical quals and other issues.</p>
<p>Thus, eliminating Early Decision (vs. Early Action) should help the Academies attract highly qualified applicants who previously might have gone to a civilian school under ED.</p>