Applying Early Decision is a great idea — If your teen has a clear first-choice school, a strong application and your family is comfortable with the financial commitment, applying Early Decision may be your child’s best chance to be accepted to a dream school.
That’s the short answer. However, here are some pieces of information that will help you decide whether applying Early Decision is the best decision for you!
Early Decision can be a great option for students who:
- Have thoroughly researched their first-choice school.
- Are sure that they will attend if accepted.
- Have a strong application and essays that they can submit by early fall.
- Can arrange for counselor and teacher recommendations in time for submission.
- Have completed their SAT/ACT testing so that the scores will be sent to the schools in plenty of time.
There are excellent benefits to being accepted Early Decision. Once the applicant commits, the stress of the process is over. The student will have avoided paying application fees to other schools with later deadlines. And there’s plenty of time to arrange housing, financial aid, and prepare for their transition to college.
Sometimes, applying Early Decision might not be the best option. Many families worry that not applying Early Decision will hurt their chances, but in some cases, applying Early Decision may not be the best strategy for a student or family.
Here are some things that you might think about:
- The student may still be working on a college list and is not ready to choose an Early Decision school
- Students are limited to only one school that offers Early Decision as an option.
- Colleges won’t consider grades and achievements during fall semester of senior year which might have strengthened their application
- Once a student is accepted Early Decision, they can’t accept any other offers of financial aid or other programs.
- You may want to explore other options: Students can still apply Early Action or Rolling Admission to other schools while applying Early Decision. And if they aren’t accepted through Early Decision, they may be deferred to the regular decision pool. Some students also choose to apply Early Decision 2 to another school later in the process.
For the right student, Early Decision can absolutely be an advantage. But it should be a thoughtful family decision, not a rushed strategy based on pressure or fear. Take your time to decide whether any of these points are dealbreakers for you! You actually have until the deadline, sometimes as late as November 1, to make up your mind!
I work with students and parents to evaluate whether Early Decision makes strategic sense based on the student’s goals, readiness, college list, and overall application strength.
To schedule your free 30-minute consultation with me via Zoom, FaceTime or phone, click here!
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