Early decision
Encyclopedia
Early decision is a common early admission
policy used in college
admissions in the United States
for admitting freshmen
to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the University
or College
that the candidate considers that institution to be his or her top choice. Candidates applying early decision typically submit their applications by the end of October of their senior year of high school and receive a decision in mid-December. In contrast, students applying regular decision typically must submit their applications by January 1 and receive their admissions decision by April 1.
Some colleges offer either an early decision program or an early action
one. Others accept applications in a relatively long window known as rolling admission
. Early decision differs from early action
in that it constitutes a binding commitment to enroll; that is, if offered admission under an early decision program the candidate must withdraw all other applications to other institutions and enroll at that institution. Early action is not binding, so a student admitted to a school early action could choose not to enroll in that school. Furthermore, early decision programs require applicants to file only one early application, while, depending on the institution, early action programs may allow candidates to apply to more than one early action institution.
surrounds early decision. Critics of the program think that binding an applicant, typically seventeen or eighteen years old, to a single institution is unnecessarily restrictive. Furthermore, candidates for financial aid are, if admitted under early decision, unable to compare financial aid offers from different colleges. It was in answer to these criticisms that, starting in 2004, Yale
and Stanford
switched from early decision to single-choice early action. Harvard, Princeton
, and the University of Virginia
announced in the Fall of 2006 that they would no longer offer Early Action or Early Decision programs, which they claim favor the affluent, and moved to a single deadline instead. The University of Florida
followed suit the following year. However, the University of Virginia, followed by both Harvard and Princeton reinstated their single-choice, early action program to promote diversity and provide opportunities for students looking for such an option in 2011.
Early admission
Early admission is a college admission plan in which students apply earlier in the year than usual and receive their results early as well. This benefits students by reducing the number of applications to be completed at one time, and by providing results early...
policy used in college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
admissions in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for admitting freshmen
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or College
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
that the candidate considers that institution to be his or her top choice. Candidates applying early decision typically submit their applications by the end of October of their senior year of high school and receive a decision in mid-December. In contrast, students applying regular decision typically must submit their applications by January 1 and receive their admissions decision by April 1.
Some colleges offer either an early decision program or an early action
Early action
Early action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1...
one. Others accept applications in a relatively long window known as rolling admission
Rolling admission
Rolling admission is a policy used by many colleges to admit freshmen to undergraduate programs. Many law schools in the United States also have rolling admissions policies. Under rolling admission, candidates are invited to submit their applications to the university anytime within a large window...
. Early decision differs from early action
Early action
Early action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1...
in that it constitutes a binding commitment to enroll; that is, if offered admission under an early decision program the candidate must withdraw all other applications to other institutions and enroll at that institution. Early action is not binding, so a student admitted to a school early action could choose not to enroll in that school. Furthermore, early decision programs require applicants to file only one early application, while, depending on the institution, early action programs may allow candidates to apply to more than one early action institution.
Possible outcomes of early decision
Typically, a candidate who has applied early decision can receive one of three outcomes in December. He or she may be admitted, in which case he or she is bound to attend the school which admitted him or her; rejected, in which case he or she will not be able to attend the school; or deferred, in which case he or she will be reconsidered for admission with the second round of early decision applications or with the regular decision pool and notified later with their final decision. Generally when an applicant is deferred he or she is released from their binding early decision agreement.Advantages of early decision
Admission rates for "early" applicants tend to be higher than the overall admission rates for the institution; this is particularly true of the most selective colleges. This is usually attributed to three factors: first, candidates who apply "early" can only present colleges with their transcripts until the end of junior year of high school and therefore must be particularly strong applicants with very persuasive transcripts; second, candidates who apply "early" have dedicated themselves to an institution and are more likely to match the institution's admission standards; third, student athletes sometimes apply "early" to their top choice school to demonstrate their commitment to a college varsity coach who, in turn, can push their applications in the admissions process.Disadvantages of early decision
ControversyControversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
surrounds early decision. Critics of the program think that binding an applicant, typically seventeen or eighteen years old, to a single institution is unnecessarily restrictive. Furthermore, candidates for financial aid are, if admitted under early decision, unable to compare financial aid offers from different colleges. It was in answer to these criticisms that, starting in 2004, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
switched from early decision to single-choice early action. Harvard, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
announced in the Fall of 2006 that they would no longer offer Early Action or Early Decision programs, which they claim favor the affluent, and moved to a single deadline instead. The University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
followed suit the following year. However, the University of Virginia, followed by both Harvard and Princeton reinstated their single-choice, early action program to promote diversity and provide opportunities for students looking for such an option in 2011.
See also
- College admissionsCollege admissionsUniversity admission or college admissions is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution....
- Early actionEarly actionEarly action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1...
- Rolling admissionRolling admissionRolling admission is a policy used by many colleges to admit freshmen to undergraduate programs. Many law schools in the United States also have rolling admissions policies. Under rolling admission, candidates are invited to submit their applications to the university anytime within a large window...
- The Early Admissions Game: Joining the EliteThe Early Admissions Game: Joining the EliteThe Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite, is a 2004 book which concerns early admission . The authors combine survey research with an empirical analysis of more than 500,000 applications to a number of colleges...