What You Need to Know About Early Action

So this means you already know the colleges you want to attend, and the only problem is actually figuring out when. Early action programs are slightly different from Early Decision, and have deadlines on either the 1st, 16th or 15th of November. You will be able to get your admission decision by mid December or early January. This is way before the regular decision applicants get their admission decisions.

Learning whether you should apply early action is important to how you space out your applications. This guide will give you all the information you need to figure out whether early action application is for you,

Advantages of Early Action

It is Non-binding

Early Action programs are generally non-binding and give you the freedom to apply and consider other schools. This means you get a chance to evaluate different programs without feeling obliged to attend a specific school.

For example, if you are not sure whether the science department at Tufts is better than Dartmouth, you have several months to take your pick. Additionally, you get an opportunity to evaluate the financial packages. In this case, feel free to pick whatever works for you!

Earlier Admissions Decisions

Early action allows you to breathe and enjoy the holidays. By January and early February, you’ll be done with college applications and learned of the admissions decisions before the regular admissions pool.

If you were sure about the schools, your job is basically done and you can focus on preparing for college.

On the other hand, if you had a longer list, you know early enough where you stand with your top schools.

You get Higher Admissions Chances

Now hold on. This does not mean the acceptance rate is higher for EA applicants. Early action is non-binding and therefore, unlike ED applicants, you are showing less commitment to join the school.

Your admissions chances are going to be pretty much just like the regular decision pool. However, if you don’t get in, the college could automatically place you under consideration in the regular decision program. If it doesn’t you still get a chance to reapply before the deadline.

You can make your application stronger by adding extra-curricular activities or higher test scores that were yet to be submitted and the school will review it.

Now that we know why you should apply early action, let’s see some reasons it could not work for you

Disadvantages of early action

Less opportunities to work on your SAT/ACT scores

You must take your tests by October for your test scores to get to the universities on time. This means that if you fail, you have less time to re-do them and impress the admissions panel

Less time to submit other applications

There is a chance of rejections from your EA choices. This means you have generally less than two weeks before submitting other applications under regular decision. The Early Action notifications range between December 15-February 15, while the Regular Decision deadlines range between January 1- February 1.

This means you need to continue working on a few other applications while you wait for the Early Action notifications.

What to keep in mind before applying Early Action:

• Do a thorough college search to ensure it meets your expectations
• Make sure you are a good fit for the college, academically, financially, and socially. In short, try to minimize your chances of getting rejected.

Concluding thoughts

We highly recommend doing your research before choosing early action. When implemented wisely, it gives you a chance to relax as you compare the best packages. In other words, you are now the panelist as you select your own school! How cool is that?

On the other hand, inadequate preparation could mess up your chances of securing your top schools. What do we recommend? Research, research, research, coupled with impeccable applications and you should be all set.