College Admissions Advantage by Early Decision

When students apply to colleges, early in their senior year of high school, they can benefit greatly by filing their applications prior to November 1^st.  That’s the typical cutoff to meet “early action” and “early decision” deadlines.  Students can apply “early action” to as many colleges as they like. The benefits are that they will hear back sooner than their peers who file regular applications while they are under no obligation to enroll. Often, the acceptance rate is higher for early action applicants. 

But the real advantage comes to students who apply “early decision” to any of a host of competitive colleges and universities. Early decision is binding, meaning students are expected to enroll if accepted, unless their financial need is not met. So, students should only choose this option when they are competitive applicants, certain of their first-choice college, and not too concerned about finances.  Many colleges strongly favor early decision candidates because it boosts their school’s “yield” – the percent of accepted students who enroll.

There are some highly competitive colleges that fill more than half of their incoming class with early decision applicants, according to statistics from collegekickstart.com. These schools include Washington University – St. Louis (74%), Middlebury College (70%), Emory University (68%), Johns Hopkins University (62%), Barnard College (60%), Wesleyan University (59%), Boston College and Colgate University (58%), Boston University (57%), Vanderbilt University (55%), Colby College (54%), Brown University (52%), and Dartmouth College (50%). 

The difference in acceptance rate between early decision and regular applicants is sizeable at many of these schools, according to collegekickstart.com. At Barnard College, a women’s college of Columbia University, the regular acceptance rate is only 3%. However, its early decision acceptance rate of 25% is more than eight times greater.   

Likewise, students applying to Duke University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Vanderbilt University, where the regular acceptance rate is at or below 5%, increase their likelihood of acceptance by three to four times if they apply early decision.    

It’s therefore important for students to start researching and visiting colleges early in their high school years. They will then have time to re-visit their favorite schools, and perhaps even attend a summer pre-college program to confirm their top choice.  When senior year rolls around, students who have long been engaged with the college process will greatly benefit from having identified their best-fit schools.

Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT^® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362