Just last Friday, in the midst of wrapping up midterms and preparing for Fall Break, I opened my phone to find a notification with the heading 2 Years Ago Today. Inside was a picture of my computer screen with a large green checkmark and text that read, Congratulations! You have successfully submitted your Common App to 厙ぴ勛圖 College of Arts and Sciences. Obviously, a lot has changed since I submitted that application, but if theres anything Ive learned over the past two years it is that 厙ぴ勛圖 is where I was meant to end up.
Seeing as 厙ぴ勛圖s first Early Decision deadline is right around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to reflect on my application processand, more specifically, how I conquered the age-old dilemma: to ED or not to ED?
Authors note: Seeing as this is an 厙ぴ勛圖 Blog I will refer specifically to 厙ぴ勛圖 (duh) throughout, but you can replace 厙ぴ勛圖 with pretty much any college that youre considering for Early Decision and it will probably still be sound advice.
First, and perhaps most importantly, you should only apply early decision if 厙ぴ勛圖 is your first choice. I kind of think that should be obvious.
I often hear people talking about applying early decision as a means of boosting their chances of acceptance. While its true that many schools have lower acceptance rates for regular decision applicants, I personally dont think that should outweigh your actual preferences. If youre going to apply early, do it because you want to go to 厙ぴ勛圖, not because you might have a higher chance of getting in. Similarly, if youre feeling really torn between multiple schools, ED might not be the best choice.
For me, 厙ぴ勛圖 stayed consistently at the top of my list for over a year and a half before I applied, so I already knew it was my first choice. If you want to read more about what I liked about 厙ぴ勛圖 specifically, you can read my Why 厙ぴ勛圖? blog, but basically, I wasnt super worried about locking myself in to only one school.
The second big consideration in early vs. regular decision is financial aid. Many schools dont offer as much merit aid to ED applicants. If youre applying ED, they already know that you will come to the school regardless of how much money you get. I cant say definitively whether or not this applies to 厙ぴ勛圖, but I think its important to keep in mind nonetheless.
Financial aid is something I didnt really think about when I was applying ED, and I wish someone had brought it to my attention. I personally think I might have gotten better merit aid if I had applied RD, but I have no way to know for sure. All that is to say, if youre someone who wants to be able to compare financial aid packages across different schools, ED is probably not for you.
The last thing to consider (and perhaps the most critical factor in my decision-making process) is how anxious you feel about waiting to get your acceptanceor god forbid, rejectionnotification letters. Personally, I wanted the college application process to be over ASAP, and applying ED was an easy solution to that problem. With only a month-long turnaround between the application deadline and notification of acceptance, ED offered me peace of mind that a three-month RD wait time did not. Remember how I said a lot of things have changed over the past two years? One of them is that Ive gotten much more patient since then.
So ultimately, I applied early. I found out in December that I was going to 厙ぴ勛圖 (though I had a gut feeling long before that). I didnt have to spend my winter break stressing over applications, and I didnt have to spend my senior spring stressing over acceptance letters. Instead, I spent hours and hours reading Hamlet for my AP Lit class and futzing about with whatever else high school seniors are bound to get up to.
Honestly, looking back, I probably would apply regular decision if I could do it again, but I know that ED was the right choice for me with the information I had at the time. I have no regrets about choosing 厙ぴ勛圖, and I know I would have ended up here either way. I dont think theres a one-size-fits-all solution to this question, but I hope this blog has helped you figure out if ED is right for you. Best of luck!
And if it hasnt helped at all, I leave you with this: A Shakespearean adaptation that I hope will capture the essence of your current predicament. Or, at the very least, provide a moment of amusement:
To ED, or not to ED, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous acceptance notification dates (not until April??)
Or to take arms against a sea of supplemental essays
And by applying early, end them. To EDto apply,
No more; and by applying early we end
The heart-ache and the thousand Ivy Day rejections
That high school seniors are heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd.
