Deciding on a Decision Plan
by Sarah M.
If you’re a high school senior applying for college, how can you decide on a decision plan?
There are five possibilities for college decision plans:
- Regular Decision: you apply usually in early January (depending on the school), hear back around April, and decide in May. This is the standard option, which gives you the most time and flexibility to craft your application and come to a final decision.
- Early Decision: you apply in October or November (depending on the school) and hear back usually in December before the regular decision deadline. If you get in in the first round, you must attend (You can also be deferred to the regular decision round, in which case you are no longer obliged to attend.)
This is the best option for students with a clear dream school. It is important to note, though, that you will often not receive your financial aid decision until later in the spring. If financial considerations are very important to you, it may be best to refrain from applying Early Decision.
- Early Action: you apply early and hear back early, but you are not required to attend if you get in. This is a good option for students who simply want to get a head start on the process. You will not have as much time to work on your application, so if you want to use this decision plan it is essential to begin working early.
- Restrictive Early Action: this is a newer category that applies mostly to the very top schools. It is similar to Early Decision in that you must choose one school to apply to early – but if you get in, it is not binding. This allows you to choose between different financial aid packages, rather than committing to a school before you know what aid they will provide. There is also an important distinction in REA: it usually applies only to private schools. So, while you can only apply REA to one private school, you can usually still apply Early Action to multiple public schools in addition.
- Early Decision 2: The deadline is usually the same as Regular Decision (around January), but if you get in you must go. This can be a great option for students who were rejected from their first Early Decision choice, who improved their application after the early deadline, or who discover a dream school later in the process.
Deciding on which of these options (or what combination of them) to use can be complicated, and it will have a big impact on your application experience. It affects the timeline of your work, when you hear back, and when you make a final decision.
It can also affect your chances of getting in to some schools: applying Early Decision can sometimes boost your chances of admission significantly (though there are no guarantees). As you build your college list, make sure that your decision plan is not an afterthought: it should be considered carefully, and early enough to avoid any rushing with early deadlines.
