Early Decision (ED):  Early Decision (ED) is also an early admission process offered by certain schools where students apply early and receive their admission decisions early. However, Early Decision plans are binding. This means if a student is accepted, they enter a binding commitment to enroll at that school.

Early Action (EA):  Early Action (EA) is a type of early admission process offered by some colleges and universities.  Unlike the regular admissions process, EA requires students to submit an application by mid-October or early November of their senior year.  Students are notified by the school’s decision by early January. Early Action plans are non-binding.

Restrictive Early Action (REA):  Nonbinding early application process. Students may not apply to any other schools in the early rounds. Applicants are expected to sign a statement that they agree to file only one early application. 

Regular Decision: Deadlines vary from November through January and admission decisions are usually released by March. 

Rolling Admissions:  Colleges evaluate applications as they are received versus waiting to evaluate all applications after a hard deadline. Schools will continue to evaluate applications until they've filled all the slots for their incoming class.