Early Admission– the advantage for getting a ‘yes’ to Ivy League and other top-notch universities

In recent years, high school seniors have been faced with the decision of “where to apply early?” The early application has become imperative because as the statistics prove (see below), applying early gives the students far greater odds of getting accepted than applying Regular Decision.  And, students will hear about their acceptance decision by December 1.

Applying early can be done in two (and a half ways):  Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA).  Early Decision (ED) in binding, meaning if you are accepted as ED applicant, you must attend that college. However, Early Action (EA) is nonbinding. With EA students who are accepted early do not have to commit to the college until the Regular Decision reply date (usually) on May 1. Some colleges offer single-choice Early Action, which is still non-binding, but the student can only apply to that one college early.

Below is a list of the statistics for early admission rates in 2020. A few weeks ago in my story, I generated the overall admission rates, which combines the early and regular decision rates of acceptance.  By analyzing the chart below, a student can quickly surmise that applying early gives you two-to-three times better odds of getting an acceptance!

*not an Ivy League college

DATA COMPILED FROM:  Cornell University;   Northwestern University;  Dartmouth College;  Duke University;  University of Pennsylvania;  Princeton University;  Yale University;  Columbia University;  Harvard University;  Stanford University; http://blog.ivywise.com;     http://www.toptieradmissions.com;  http://www.collegedata.com