The big question this week in the college application process is whether or not to apply Early Decision, Early Action, or Priority Notification because the first such deadline for most of these opportunities is coming up next Monday, Nov. 1. Knowing the difference between these options is essential to making a good choice, so first let me try to make that difference clear.
Early Decision (ED) entails a pre-commitment to attend the college if you are accepted. This ED protocol requires the student to sign, a parent to sign, and the counselor to sign a “Take Me/My Child/My Student and I’m/He/She Is Yours” pledge. Ninety-nine percent of the time students follow through, the only exceptions being cases where a death in the family or some other untoward event will so radically alter the family landscape that the student needs to walk away from his or her witnessed signature and promise to attend. Since starting my career in secondary schools 30 years ago, I have never seen a student renege on an Early Decision Agreement.
Early Action (EA), by contrast to Early Decision, entails no such commitment. Early Action simply affords the candidate the chance to receive an admissions decision earlier in the process, with no strings attached. In most cases, students who apply EA by Nov. 1 will have an answer in December, or at the latest in January. They will then have until May 1, the national tuition-deposit deadline, to decide whether or not to accept the Early Action offer. Priority Notification (PN) is Early Action by another name, one more commonly used by public colleges and universities, with answers coming back in January.
Now, when it comes to deciding whether or not to apply ED, EA, or PN, it’s essential to do some very careful thinking. ED is for those students who have done exhaustive research and know, with well-founded certainty, that the college to which they’re applying is absolutely not only where they want to go, but the best possible place for them to pursue their education.
They need to know, for good reason, that it’s the best fit in terms of all the criteria that go into making a good choice: academic programs, extracurricular offerings, size, location, personality, and—and this bit is essential—the financial reality.
That last one is the hang-up for many families, especially in our current down economy. It’s the stumbling block because families that need to shop for the best possible financial terms simply aren’t comfortable signing off on “Take My Kid and He/She is Yours” until they’ve seen the particulars of the payment plan that will support four years at that college. To their credit, most institutions really do put their best possible package on the table for successful Early Decision applicants, but making that pre-commitment to attend without a look at the bottom line is more than most families are willing to do.
On the other hand, if the parents of the candidate have done thorough research on the total cost of the institution; have a pretty good idea of the need- and merit-based aid that their child is going to receive; are comfortable with the debt load in student loans likely to be included in the package; and can write the check necessary to cover the balance; then Early Decision might just be the way to go. One reality of the process is that colleges that use ED do so because it improves their “Yield,” the percentage of students to whom they offer admission who actually accept the offers.
Yield matters to enrollment managers because it’s the only way they can balance their budgets. Even mighty Harvard loses kids to other colleges each year, matriculating about 80% of those to whom they offer admission. Strong yield is pretty much anything over 50%. Rather than having to make two or more offers just to get one student enrolled, colleges that use Early Decision love the 99% Yield on such admissions and will sometimes take a slightly less-qualified applicant simply because they are sure he or she will show up the following fall, filling a seat in the budget.
Sometimes students want to play this additional card for that added weight in their favor, but good admissions officers will tell you time and again only to apply ED if you are absolutely, positively sure the school is right for you, and that you and your parents can pay the freight. Do not check the ED box simply because it will help you get in.
When it comes to Early Action or Priority Notification, there’s no reason to hang back and wait—unless the candidate feels the need to get higher senior grades or higher standardized testing before submitting the application. If your academic profile would benefit from more time on task, it’s fine to wait, because an EA or PN application carries no real additional weight in your favor.
You haven’t promised to attend if accepted, so they’re not going to do anything extra in order to sign you up. Then again, if you have a strong application, why wait? It’s great to get good news before the holidays.
Chris Teare, College Counselor at Antilles School, hosts Making The College Choice each Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. on Radio One, AM-1000; the show is also available at www.amg.vi.
