If you are asking if students should apply early action to every school on their application list…I say…yes to any that offer it.
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Yes, any schools that offer EA should be applied to by the EA deadline if they are on the OP’s list.
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In fact these are both good examples where looking at their admissions pages tells you what you need to know.
Purdue says this:
If you’re a high school student, you should apply early in your senior year; admission will be much more competitive if you apply later. The freshman application is available beginning August 1.
To meet a deadline, your application must be complete, which means we have received all required material. See Completing the Application, below.
NOVEMBER 1: Early Action Application Deadline
- Students who meet the Early Action deadline will have an admission decision on January 15.
- Application deadline to be considered for Purdue’s full range of scholarships and the John Martinson Honors College.
- Priority application deadline for engineering (first-year), computer science, nursing, veterinary nursing, and flight (professional flight technology). Priority means we will continue accepting applications after this date only if space allows — if applying for one of these programs after November 1, check the closed programs page first.
So that is a mix of considerations including certain restricted programs and scholarships, but also an explicit statement that admissions gets more competitive if you apply later. Obviously if the OP is interested in Purdue, they should heed that advice from Purdue.
Maryland is also pretty clear:
We strongly encourage you to apply early action to receive priority consideration for admission, merit-based scholarships and invitations to special programs . UMD’s November 1 early action deadline is non-binding and students who submit a completed application by this date will receive an admission decision by February 1.
Again, if the OP is interested in Maryland they should follow that advice.
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By the way, I think the OP will find over time it is pretty easy to “decode” what these colleges are saying. Again, Purdue and Maryland both mentioned special programs and scholarships, but also further stated it also mattered for general admissions.
Contrast that with, say, Illinois:
To be eligible for early action admission, you must submit your application by 11:59 p.m. CT on November 1, and all required items must be received by November 7. Meeting this deadline may give you the best chance for being admitted to our most selective programs. You may also receive special attention for admission to honors programs and for merit awards.
OK, so Illinois has the same sort of statements about selective/honors programs and merit, but is lacking a similar sort of statement about general admissions.
And for a final illustrative comparison, here is Michigan:
Students who apply Early Action will receive a decision earlier in the process, as they are guaranteed a response by late January. Regular Decision candidates may not receive a final admissions decision until early April.
You do not need to apply Early Action, but this fast-paced approach may fit your needs by providing you with a decision sooner. It’s a great option if you know that Michigan is one of your top choice schools.
The Chief Advantage of Early Action
Early Action provides you with a guaranteed decision date. For many students, this enables better planning.
So, none of that stuff about any consideration/admissions advantages, just an earlier decision.
Generally, my point is this. The vast majority of colleges do not want to hide from the OP important information on subjects like this. So again, once the OP has put together an application list based on other criteria, typically it will just take a very short online research project to figure out when they should be applying.
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What Maryland fails to say on their website is that they fill (on average) 94% of their incoming class in EA. They really should relabel their “regular decision” to “late decision”.
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Applying EA where you can is generally good advice. The caveat though is to make sure you have budgeted the time and effort required to apply to the number of schools you choose. Rushing 7-10 EA apps may be counterproductive to doing 3-5 well. Within your EA list, choose at least 1 safety. There also may be some merit in waiting until RD for your more selective schools. Some times you can improve essays with the passage of time or with positive things that happen during the first semester. Also your EA outcomes may provide you with some feedback. If you are being rejected by schools that you thought you had a good shot with based on grades and test scores, you have a chance to reconsider essays or even LoR’s. If you had positive outcomes, you can shoot higher and know that your essays and LoR’s are solid.
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Follow up question regarding Early Action. Does it matter for your chances of getting in to a school when you apply during the the Early Action application period? In other words, does applying at the beginning of the Early Action application cycle (say if it opens August 1) vs near the end of the cycle, make a difference as far as acceptance chances?
Generally no.
Some schools technically have multiple distinct EA rounds, like Auburn. First round deadline is Sept 15, and if you miss that you are put in the next EA round (acceptance rates are higher in earlier rounds per admissions).
You may hear rumors that some schools might act on EA apps in the order they were received, but those rumors are not substantiated by fact AFAIK…U Mich is a school that some say does this.
Applying early can make a difference at rolling admission schools, like U Pittsburgh.
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No. And the same answer applies to RD and ED. It only matters if the college has rolling admissions.
In general, with schools not practicing rolling admissions, applications are not even looked at before the deadline. No admissions officer is sitting at his desk on August 1 and thinking, “I hope some applications come in today so that I have something to do.”
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Lol. Got it. 
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There are a few schools like Clemson where you may want to apply as soon as the application opens up because housing priority is determined by application date.
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and worse, some are determined by when you apply for housing/make a deposit and you don’t even know if you’ve been admitted to school yet and they’re already taking your money. It’s just the cost of applying to those schools.
UGA, UF, FSU to name three.
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Start listening to the “Your College Bound Kid” podcast and check out their website. https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/
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Will check it out!
And if possible, I would add to that a mix of urban, urban-adjacent/heavy suburban, and rural, if all all possible. That matrix of size on one axis and density on the other is a very helpful one to sort.
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Whitney Soule VP Admissions and Penn, has put together a coursera class “Applying to College 101”. Should be a great free resource for students and parents.
Description:
Applying to College 101 empowers learners of all backgrounds to demystify and better understand the college search and selection process, combining the expertise of an Ivy League admissions office and a leading college access and success organization. Led by expert educators, including Whitney Soule, Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Sean Vereen and Sara Woods, Co-presidents of Heights Philadelphia, this free course will help students, family members, college counselors, and any curious learner to navigate each stage from the start of the college search process through preparing your applications to colleges.
This course includes a variety of videos, readings, and activities—all designed to encourage self-reflection, information sharing, and moments of connection.
In this course, you’ll learn about:
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The organizational skills you’ll need to be successful in this process
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Important financial aid resources and how to make college affordable
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How to better understand your story and how it connects to what interests you and what colleges look for
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How to find your right college fit
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The steps and materials needed to complete your college application
This course is designed for students who are planning to apply to college soon (11th graders and 12th graders), but the activities and videos can still be useful for students who are earlier in their college search journey as they plan for the future. Regardless of where you are in your understanding of the college search process—from those who are the first in their family to pursue a bachelor’s degree and who may be trying to figure out where to even begin—to those who are well on their way to preparing an application—this course provides a road map to helping you move through this journey in your own way and on your own time.
This course is open to the public, asynchronous, and self-directed without a facilitator. Please note although this course is designed by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), this is not a course about applying to Penn.
The course is also intended for students who may not have access to college counseling – if you attend a school that offers college counseling, your counselor is the best source of information on applying to college.
This course is for students who are applying to college for the first time, intending to pursue undergraduate degrees at a four-year institution in the U.S.
If you are an international student attending a school outside the U.S. interested in learning more about navigating the U.S. university system and application process, we recommend enrolling in this course: Applying to US Universities.
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Love this!
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Thanks. I am reading the thread and it’s very helpful. Can you please share the link for the course. Applying to US Universities. Where do I get this?
Click on the words ‘applying to college 101’ in my post above, that is the link.
Question for the crowd -
How certain are you that EA offers students an admissions advantage? More importantly, how certain are you that EA does not offer students an admissions disadvantage?
Thanks.