“To ED or not to ED?”
Or, more specifically, “Will I have a better chance of getting in if I apply Early Decision?” That seems to be the question for many students as they try to calculate the best route to approach their top choice colleges. If a first choice is emerging from your short list of colleges, this question may be weighing on your mind as well.
Between the Lines: The Early Decision Commitment
Early Decision (ED) is an application option that enables you to apply for admission and receive a decision in advance of the Regular admission process. In order to apply ED, you must declare your intent to enroll if accepted. Should you be accepted, you also promise to immediately withdraw any other applications for regular admission that you may have submitted to other colleges.
The Early Decision or ED option has become very popular among students as they seek to improve their chances of admission in what are bound to be tight competitions. Students who choose to apply ED are prepared to forego potential opportunities at other institutions in favor of an early–and binding–commitment to one. If they are dead certain of that commitment, choosing to apply ED can make a difference. Many also see a successful ED application as the ticket out of an application process than can drag on interminably throughout the senior year.
If you have found a clear favorite on your short list of colleges, you might be considering an ED application yourself. This is serious stuff, though. ED embodies a commitment–kind of like taking the “big” step in a relationship. Before moving forward, you need to be absolutely, beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt certain you are ready to do it. Just as in a relationship, there are lots of factors to consider.
“What if they don’t take me?” “What if I get in but they don’t give me the financial aid I need?” “Can I change my mind if a better offer comes along later?” “How can I be sure I will feel the same way about the school six months from now?” Unfortunately, there are no guaranteed outcomes when considering the ED option. Thus it is clear, Early Decision is not for everyone.
So, what’s the scoop with Early Decision? Colleges’ tendencies with regard to Early Decision (ED) have changed dramatically over the years. Originally an application option extended by elite institutions to their best candidates, ED has become the perfect marriage between institutions with complex enrollment agendas and students on the competitive bubble who are eager to improve their chances of admission at those schools. Let’s take a closer look at how and why colleges utilize their ED programs.
The admission process is an opportunity for colleges to manage enrollment–to maintain or improve levels of selectivity while enrolling just the right number of students. When the number of applicants far exceeds the number of places to be filled, institutions must calculate closely the number of students to be admitted or run the risk of missing badly on their enrollments. One way they can reduce this risk is by accepting students in smaller increments (with staggered deadlines) that allows them to monitor the yield on offers more closely. At many places, the first such increment is the Early Decision or, in some cases, Early Action (non-binding) program.
A secondary benefit to the process of incrementally admitting and enrolling the class is that admission officers are able to keep an eye on selectivity (a.k.a. admit ratio) and yield as it relates to the overall enrollment process. In addition to enrolling the class, admission officers at most schools are eager to demonstrate greater selectivity (limit the number of offers made) while improving the yield (percentage of accepted students who enroll). By planning to admit more high yielding Early Decision candidates, they address both of these objectives.
Clearly, then ED presents advantages to both students and the institutions they are considering. It’s not a perfect solution, however, and the decision to apply ED cannot be taken lightly. To learn more about the “pluses and minuses” of the Early Decision option, join the “Straight Talk About College Admission” teleseminar at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, November 20. Click here to register.
Note: The text for this blog is taken from Chapter 13, “Playing the Early Decision Card,” of Winning the College Admission Game: Strategies for Students.
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