You might think applying to college is a fairly straightforward endeavor. There’s an application process and deadline, you follow it, and you’re done.
But college application season has become more complicated than that. Today, most colleges offer multiple application types and times, each with its own set of rules, deadlines, and potential outcomes. College-bound students will likely notice three different application processes when researching universities:
- Early Action
- Early Decision
- Regular Decision
We’ll take a look at each of these options, keeping in mind the top question on many students’ and parents’ minds: Does early action increase chances of college acceptance?
Early Action vs. Early Decision vs. Regular Decision
Your decision to apply to college using one of the three main application systems will depend on a number of factors. Each one has its pros and cons, which you’ll want to carefully consider before choosing the best route for you. There are also college acceptance rate realities for each to understand. Here are some of the features and pros and cons of your options when applying for college:
Early Action
- Apply by an early deadline (usually in November)
- Receive admissions decision in December or January – way ahead of regular decision applicants
- Non-binding decisions – you don’t have to attend the college if you are accepted through the early action process, so you can apply to as many schools as you’d like using this method
- Not suitable for applicants who need to get their grades or SAT/ACT test scores up to match minimum requirements of the school
- Your application could be accepted outright, rejected outright, or deferred and sent to the regular decision process
- If you’re accepted to multiple schools through early action, you can compare all financial aid packages and choose the options that best fits your budget
- Students often choose early action to wrap up their college application work ahead of the busy end of year holiday season – get accepted early and there’s one less thing to worry about for the rest of your senior year!
Early Decision
- Apply by an early deadline (usually in November)
- Receive admissions decision in December or January – way ahead of regular decision applicants
- Binding decisions – you are obligated to attend the school if they accept you through an early decision process
- One exception to the binding nature of early decision: financial aid. It’s possible to get out of attending the university if the financial aid package doesn’t meet your financial needs.
- Because of the binding nature of early decision, you can only apply to one university using this method
- Students who receive an early decision acceptance wrap up their college application work ahead of the busy end of year holiday season – one less thing to worry about for the rest of your senior year!
Regular Decision
- Apply by the college’s regular application deadline (varies by school)
- Receive admissions decisions generally from mid-March to mid-April
- Report whether you accept or decline any offers by early May
- No admissions offers during regular decision season are binding, and you can apply to as many schools as you want
- If you didn’t receive early action or early decision offers, regular decision is your back-up method
- Students who need to get their grades and/or ACT/SAT test scores up through a strong fall semester and/or retaking the tests should use regular decision to ensure their grades and scores meet the minimum requirements for each university
- This is the college application process that most students will use – there is no penalty for waiting to apply until regular decision
The College Acceptance Rate: What It Is and What to Consider
A college’s acceptance rate is the rate at which they give acceptance letters to applicants in any given application season. When researching colleges and universities, you’ll want to understand what percentage of applicants actually get in – the college’s acceptance rate. This will help you understand your odds and what you might need to do to increase your chances.
Universities with famously (or infamously) low acceptance rates include Harvard University (4%), Yale University (4.5%) and Stanford University (3.9%). State colleges and smaller liberal arts colleges tend to have much higher acceptance rates. Kenyan College in Ohio, for example, which is a highly-ranked small private liberal arts college has an acceptance rate of 36.5%. Well-known state school Texas A&M accepts students at an even higher 64.3% rate, with many schools claiming acceptance rates up into even the high 80% range.
Strategic college-bound students tend to apply to colleges across the acceptance rate spectrum. Your dream school might have an acceptance rate below 20% and you should go for it! But it’s smart to have a few back ups in hand – applications with schools that do interest you and offer higher acceptance rates – just in case.
Is the College Acceptance Rate Higher for Early Action Applicants?
So, does early action increase your chances of college acceptance? In general, no. If your reason for applying early action is because you think it increases your chances of getting accepted, you might want to reconsider your approach.
The biggest benefit of applying early action is that you can potentially wrap up the college application process earlier than your peers, saving you time, energy, and stress during the holiday season and spring semester of your senior year in high school. For many students, that is reason enough to get moving on applying to college earlier than the rest.
On the other hand, the college acceptance rate for early decision applicants is slightly higher than early action and regular decision applicants. This is likely because colleges recognize students who apply early decision are dedicated to their institution. They’ve accepted a binding decision. And schools like knowing they’re going to get at least a few guaranteed “yes” responses, as a high percentage of applicants who accept offers boosts a college’s rankings.
Additionally, students who apply early decision tend to have higher grades and higher test scores than regular decision applicants. This could also explain why the acceptance rates are somewhat higher in the early decision process.
Which Application Method Should I Choose?
Whether you decide to apply early action, early decision, or regular decision – or all three – is going to depend on a range of factors that are unique to your personal situation.
Because of the binding nature of the early decision application, many college-bound students avoid this route. They’d rather keep their options wide open, seeing how many and which schools offer them admission, and making their choice from there. Other students, however, have a top dream school in mind, and would gladly accept an early decision offer without ever knowing what other colleges might have accepted them. This is a highly personal decision that only you can know is right for you or not.
Early action applications are not binding, and if you have the right grades and test scores to get into the schools you like, this is a great option for wrapping up the process before everyone else. And since any offers you might receive during the early action process are not binding, you can still potentially choose from a pool of acceptance letters.
How to Increase Chances of College Acceptance
Now that you know that applying early action doesn’t necessarily increase your chances of college acceptance, you can focus on what factors could give your application a boost. Better grades, a higher ACT/SAT score, and stronger personal essays are just some of the real ways students can improve their chances of getting into their top schools.
Other ways to increase the chances of college acceptance include:
- Securing strong letters of recommendation
- Demonstrating thoughtful interest in the university
- Applying to a diverse collection of colleges and universities
- Managing your online reputation (how does your LinkedIn profile look to college admissions counselors?)
- Applying to a school with a family connection (legacy admissions)
More Options = Better Chances
To sum it all up, one of the best strategies for improving your chances of college acceptance is to employ all application options available to you. If your grades and test scores are in the right range, take a stab at some early action applications. You might just get an offer that works perfectly for your academic and financial needs. If you don’t, regular decision is still an option available to you, and if you have a diverse set of schools to apply to, you’re increasing your chances of getting at least a few offers from which to choose.
Does one college stand out in the crowd to you? Try your hand at early decision, as long as your comfortable with the binding nature of that method. If you don’t get accepted right away, the school will often send your application to the regular decision pool, giving you a second chance at your top choice.
In short, apply early, often, and with diversity in mind to set yourself for college application season success.
Madeleine Karydes
Sophia Minhas