College Articles Early Action and Early Decision

One of the biggest decisions to make in the application process is whether to do Early Decision. You can only apply to one school Early Decision, and it forecloses financial aid negotiations if you're accepted because you can't get packages from other schools to use in negotiating, but it's undeniable that it vastly increases your odds at highly competitive colleges: often from next to zero to in the ballpark. For example, some of the highly competitive colleges accept 5-8% of applicants, but if you apply Early Decision, it rises to roughly 18% and if you don't it drops to about 3%. If you're applying to the Ivies or their equivalents, the only real chance for most humans is Early Decision, but even then the chances are under 20%, and all of those applicants (just about) are highly qualified to attend.

For a document from InGenius listing the early decision/early action policies of the most competitive 50 schools, go to https://ingeniusprep.com/blog/early-action-and-early-decision/

Cary is happy to discuss this with you individually if you're unsure.

Are you stuck if you are accepted early decision and don't like the aid package?

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