In addition to the wide variety of post-secondary institutions in the US, students are also given various choices about when to apply. While each institution sets its own admissions deadlines, there are shared terms relating to these deadlines that are important to understand.
Regular Decision
Every school will post a regular decision application deadline, when all application materials need to be submitted. Students will usually hear back from schools in February or March and have until May 1st to decide where to attend.
Early Decision (ED)
Some institutions will offer applicants an early decision deadline, often November 1st or 15th. By submitting all of their application materials by this date and requesting “ED,” students are committed to attend the school should they be accepted. Applicants will hear back from schools generally by December 15th, and if admitted, must withdraw any applications to other schools. One of the benefits of applying ED is that admission rates tend to be higher at this point – schools like to admit students they can guarantee will attend, ensuring certain seats in the class are filled early. From the applicant’s perspective, if admitted, they can be finished with applications in December and relax and enjoy the rest of their grade 12 year, knowing this process is behind them.
Early Decision II (ED II)
Some schools offer applicants a chance to apply ED a bit later. These deadlines can be as early as December 20 or into January, so if a student is rejected from their first ED school, they can apply to another ED school at this point. These applications are also binding, meaning that if admitted, applicants are required to enroll at the school. While admission rates vary from institution to institution, there can still be benefits to students to apply in ED II. This option increased in popularity during Covid when students and institutions faced much change and uncertainty in terms of the application process and enrollment numbers.
Applicants are either accepted, rejected, or deferred from their ED schools. If applications are rejected or deferred to the regular decision pool, either scenario cancels the binding nature of these applications, leaving students free to apply and choose other schools.
Early Action
Schools offering this option allow applicants to submit their application materials early and promise to let them know by January whether they are admitted. The applications are not binding like ED, and students can apply to multiple schools and wait until May 1st to decide where to attend. The admission rates tend to be the same as in the regular decision pool, but the benefit is in hearing earlier.
Single Choice Early Action or Restrictive Early Action (SCEA or REA)
Several highly competitive private institutions offer this option, restricting applicants to only one early action application (they can still apply to other schools through regular decision). This allows students to have until May 1st to decide whether to attend the school, which can be beneficial for students looking to compare financial aid packages before deciding where to go, and the added restriction of the single application can bump up the admission rate making this a beneficial option.
Rolling Admission
Some schools have multiple deadlines for starting at different points throughout the year or no fixed deadlines at all. For schools with this type of admission option, applicants can submit their materials throughout the year and typically hear back in about 2-3 months. While this option offers maximum flexibility, applications are only accepted until all admissions spots are filled, so students would still benefit from applying as early as possible.
Since some universities offer only one deadline and others multiple options from the above list, it is important to take careful note of each school’s deadlines and policies when preparing applications.
The College Board recommends that applicants who have done their research ahead of time, are committed to their first choice school, and fall within or above a school’s grade point and test score averages are strong candidates for applying ED or early action. Students who are heavily reliant on financial aid packages to attend school and could benefit from extra time in their grade 12 year to research schools and build academic and extra-curricular profiles are better candidates for the regular decision deadlines.
In order to make the most of these options, students planning to apply to US schools would benefit from doing their research and finalizing their lists of schools by the spring of grade 11, allowing lots of time over the summer to work on essays and application tasks. Being ready to submit as early as possible can not only bump up your chances for admission but leave you lots of time to enjoy senior year! Our consultants and writing coaches are here to help you develop a plan that works best.
