Difference between early action, early decision and rolling admission?
Rolling admissions means that colleges accept applications all the way up to May 1 and let you know their decision within a certain amount of time after your application. It’s not like all decisions will be out on X date.
Early decision is binding so you can only apply ED at one school. Applying ED is showing extreme interest and telling a school that you will attend there if you are admitted. If you have a dream school and no financial restrictions, this is a viable option. However, if you need financial aid or anything like that, applying ED isn’t the best because you won’t be able to compare FA packages.
Early action isn’t binding so (besides maybe certain Ivies) you can apply to multiple schools EA. It’s like early decision but you aren’t saying you will attend that school if you are admitted. Applying EA shows interest too and you pretty much know if you are admitted to the school around December - January. This however isn’t the best if you need FA because you won’t be able to compare FA packages either.
Being waitlisted as an EA or ED applicant means that you applied but the admissions committee is moving your application into the regular decision (RD = normal application) pool which is much larger and you will be treated as an RD applicant. You will find out your decision (rejection or acceptance) either on the same date as RD applicants or slightly after.
Correction: Early Decision is not binding if the financial aid package is not sufficient. What is sufficient is entirely up to the family to decide. You should, however, take Early Decision seriously and get as much information as possible regarding what is available and what the amount could be. It can be a very useful way to maximize the amount of aid given and get into a school you cannot in Regular Decision. Clearly, if you accept an Early Decision offer you will never know how much better you could have done with merit or need based aid at another school. The fear that you will be faced with financial ruin if you go Early Decision is not something to worry about.
“Early action isn’t binding so (besides maybe certain Ivies) you can apply to multiple schools EA. It’s like early decision but you aren’t saying you will attend that school if you are admitted. Applying EA shows interest too and you pretty much know if you are admitted to the school around December - January. This however isn’t the best if you need FA because you won’t be able to compare FA packages either.”
I am still learning about admissions. I thought EA still had a May 1 deadline so financial aid packages could be compared with RD decisions. Is this not true? Please clarify or correct me.
^ Yes most schools send FA packages for EA students with RD. You have the same deadline for selecting a school under EA and RD.
Thanks^. This is a lot like developing the strategy for a game or sport.
@txstella That is exactly correct. Some schools have ED deadlines that are different too, which adds to the fun. Many also have ED1 and ED2.
Some schools only allow EA to some students with the best qualifications.
You can put together a nice application strategy by treating each one a little different. Some schools have very favorable ED odds while some don’t. In some ED is a sports recruiting tool but in others not.
@TheDidactic Rolling does not mean the school would accept application through May 1. They may still have different deadlines and some may even have 2 rounds of rolling admissions. Rolling admission simply means they will start the reviewing process after they received your complete application and you may not need to wait for a certain date for the admission result. Some schools have a turn around time of 2-4 weeks for rolling admissions. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee earlier application to receive admission earlier although it may be the case for qualified candidates.
Here is the bottom line: Get your applications done EARLY.
Then, if school is Rolling, apply ASAP.
If school has EA, apply ASAP.
If you have an absolute top choice, and you have run the financial aid calculators and you can afford it under those projections, and you will turn down admission to any other school if you get into this particular school, then apply ED. You can only do this for a single school.
Good luck!
OP, you’ll also come across the term SCEA which means single choice early action. These schools allow you to apply to them EA as long as you do not apply anywhere else EA or ED (exception: they usually allow you to apply to public schools early). So with a SCEA school you can get in early without a binding commitment but you lose the option to apply EA or ED to any other private schools.
SCEA is also known as REA (Restrictive Early Action) at some schools.
Getting a handle on early admission was one of the most important lessons learned when we went through the process a few years ago. The point to emphasize here is that regardless of type, early admission can really help a competitive applicant improve admission odds. It varies by school, but the admission rate differences between early and regular decision are typically too big to ignore…or discount just to legacies and athletes. Better yet, all that’s required is that you submit your application 60 days earlier than you normally would.
It may not always be appropriate (or available), but it should always be a consideration as part of your plan.
Here’s a link to a useful series of articles about early admission and how to take advantage of it.
https://www.college-kickstart.com/blog/item/the-early-admission-advantage
^^ Couldn’t agree more. And even if you don’t apply early for “increased odds” (which completely varies by school) you should apply early simply to have some possible admissions (especially safeties) heading into the regular decision round of applications. If you have some Nov 1 deadlines you will have to have your common app essay completed, standardized test scores ordered, recs completed, transcripts sent etc. Just means an applicant will have more time to polish things if s/he is still filling out apps over the holidays for the regular decision Jan 1/15 deadlines. Applying to one or more schools early helps you get your ducks in a row early on in the process.
I agree one should seriously consider applying to at least some schools early (EA/ED/rolling). In order to do that, one should have planned to get their final score by June. With your final score before summer, it will help you to put schools on the list and arrange for campus visit over the summer.