Priority Consideration

So I was looking at the deadlines for a college and it said that January 5 is the deadline for “Priority Consideration”…I know the differences between early action & decision but I’m not too sure about priority consideration. Can someone explain to me exactly what it means? Is it binding?

Most of the times, those who submit their college apps before priority deadline are qualified for scholarship opportunities.

@HardOREasy is it binding?

It is not something like binding or unbinding. I believe any admission plan can have priority deadline.

For example, Purdue University has a rolling admission plan and has a priority deadline of November 1, 2016 and a flat deadline of some time in 2017 (unsure of exact date). This means that, while they are continuing to accept the applications after November 1, 2016 until the firm deadline, applications of those who apply earlier than November 1, 2016 will be considered “more important” than applications of those who apply later than November 1, 2016. Usually this also means that applications submitted later than Nov 1 are not qualified for scholarships.

@HardOREasy Oh, I see. Thank you!