Early Decision: Yes or No?

Over the last number of months, seniors have been faced with the daunting question whether to Early Decision (ED) or not. Choosing to pursue Early Decision constitutes a binding contract to a college: if you get in, you must attend. The acceptance rate is typically higher, sometimes two to three times higher than the Regular Decision (RD) rate. This propsotion is undoubtedly appealing to those with a definite first choice; however, many students, for varying reasons, decide to not commit to a binding ED decisions. In my opinion, if a student wants to maximize their college chances regardless of academic statistics, a calculated ED is the correct move. However, if a student is more inclined towards having options without a clear top choice, then not EDing is a better fit. 

Many students want to maximize their chances at a competitive school. Belle Reader, a senior, explains her ED decision as “wanting to help my chances to a school that was on the tipping point.” In last few years, college admissions rates have dramatically dropped. Business Student, a business education site, found that the acceptance rates from the top 50 schools fell from 35.6% in 2006 to 22.6% in 2018. Reader adds that “there is a pressure to ED somewhere” because “I personally had a lot of anxiety about applying to certain colleges about applying to certain colleges.” 

On the other side, many seniors do not choose to ED. Motivates varying across the grade, but an anonymous senior described their choice: “I chose not to ED because I want to keep my opinions open, and I was still writing essays.” Through ED, an applicant severely limits their choices if they are accepted. Additionally, with the early November 1st deadline, an applicant’s writing window is significantly shortened, while changing your deadline for RDs may allow time to refine syntax and grammar. 

All in all, the choice is incredibly personal. If you have a definitive choice, go for it; why not ED? But, if you want to see what else it out there, then shot your shoot in the RD round. One choice is not objectively better than the other. All roads point to one’s preference.