Are these two application options different from one another or considered in the same category? Example: Can a student apply to (1) Harvard Restrictive Early Action and then apply to another private university/college Early Action?
Frustrating that some merit scholarships are tied to applying Early Action.
They’re different. With Restrictive EA or Single Choice EA, you can’t apply early (EA or ED) to another private college/university.
Look up the specifics for each school. For instance Yale offers some early apps for rolling admissions, or non-binding public Us
https://admissions.yale.edu/single-choice-early-action