What to Do After ED/EA Deadlines
by Sarah M.
With early decision and early action applications on the rise, it’s easy to focus on getting those October and November applications submitted. After that’s done, though, what should you be doing to stay on top of the game for the rest of the application season?
It might be tempting to sit back and take a break, waiting until you hear back from your dream schools in December, hoping the news is good and that you don’t have to write any more supplemental essays.
But this is a risky course of action, which can easily end with an extremely stressful holiday season while you hastily finish essays instead of celebrating with family and friends. It’s far safer to continue working steadily in November and December, not only on applications themselves, but also to continue getting good grades and excelling in your extracurriculars.
Once you do start hearing back from your ED and EA schools, there a few different outcomes to plan for. The best case scenario, of course, needs to no explanation: if you get into your dream school early, congratulations! You’re done!
But what if you’re denied, or deferred? In this case, of course you need to be focusing on your group of regular decision applications. But there are also a few new considerations to attend to.
If you’ve been denied from your dream school, it’s still possible at this point to apply to a different school ED2. You would submit this application at the regular deadline (usually early January), but you’ll be communicating to that school that it is your new first choice, and if accepted you will attend. As with ED1, it’s hard to know exactly how much this might help your chances – but it’s safe to say it gives you a small edge.
If you’ve been deferred from your dream school, you may also want to reaffirm your commitment to them through a Letter of Continued Interest. This should be short and to the point, rearticulating what you love about the school and why you are a great fit. Ideally, it should also communicate new information about your application, like recent awards, leadership positions, or updates regarding a passion project. (This is an important reason not to slack in your senior year – new achievements, even late in the game, have the potential to turn a deferral into an acceptance.)
Whether accepted, deferred, or denied, early applications give you a great opportunity to reflect on your choices and move forward with purpose. Keeping all these various options in mind is simply part of being prepared for the full college application process.
