When is early decision due

Below, please find a list of selective colleges and universities offering an ED 2 option:. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid. Application Strategies , Navigating the Admissions Process. Why do colleges offer Early Decision II? Why would a student apply Early Decision II? When exactly is Early Decision II? You can enjoy the rest of high school.

For Early Decision 2, however, the deadline is usually January 1 or January This means you must apply Regular Decision to the rest of the schools on your list. Acceptance Rates : Although colleges are cagey about the data, evidence suggests that Early Decision 2 is not as affective in boosting your chances of admission as Early Decision 1. Still, so applying ED2 is still a big boost in your likelihood of admission. In short, ED2 is a second chance at an Early Decision application, whether because you were not admitted to your first-choice college ED1, or because external factors prevented you from applying ED1 a sports schedule, poor first quarter grades, etc.

In the former case, that means students will apply both ED1 and ED2, but to different schools. Early Action programs, on the other hand, are non-binding; they simply give applicants a chance to apply to the school and get an earlier response. However, because Early Action is not binding, it tends to give less of an admissions bump than Early Decision. There are two types of Early Action that are important to know about:. Regular Early Action : Many universities in the United States offer an early deadline in the fall usually November 1 to allow students to hear about their admission result in December of senior year.

In general, the Early Action admission rate at these institutions is not substantially higher than the overall admission rate, if at all. Nevertheless, applying early action can get you quicker admission results, which is good. These schools argue that Early Decision is unfair to students who need financial aid, as under Early Decision 1 or 2 they will not be able to compare financial aid packages before they agree to attend. It also doesn't require a response until the national May 1 deadline , giving students ample time to compare college offers.

Another potential outcome of applying early action is deferment , or when your application is pushed to the regular decision applicant pool. Although nobody wants to be deferred, this response provides students with the opportunity to reach out to the school and strengthen their application for regular decision admittance. Early decision resembles early action in that students apply to a college and hear back early, typically by mid-December.

Unlike early action, however, early decision comes with a binding agreement to enroll. In other words, once you're accepted, you must pay the nonrefundable deposit and withdraw all of your other college applications. This is why students applying early decision should be completely set on attending a particular school.

One major caveat of early decision is that you're entering an agreement without seeing your financial aid offer. For those depending on financial aid to cover the majority of their tuition, this can pose a serious concern. Some schools may help you explore additional aid options, but adjustments aren't guaranteed.

As such, early decision may not be a viable option for every student. Most students apply to college under regular decision; these deadlines most commonly fall in January or February. Students often hear back from their prospective schools in March or April and are required to follow up with a response by May 1. As one of the widest application windows, regular decision offers students ample time to gather materials, prepare their essays, and take tests.

These deadlines can also give you additional time to carefully consider your college options. The downside of waiting until the final window means that if you're deferred or even rejected , you'd have to wait until the following semester or academic year to reapply.

Rather than maintaining set deadlines, colleges with rolling admission evaluate applications as they come in and usually offer several application windows each year. In general, these schools accept and review applications until all spots in the upcoming class are filled. While schools' application windows can vary widely, most institutions open up admissions early in the fall around September 1.

This window can last all the way through spring, depending on how many spots remain, though some schools may follow the May 1 college deadline.

A rolling admission policy is one that many schools use to evaluate transfer applicants as well. Transfer students should begin the application process well ahead of their prospective school's posted application deadline.

Each school maintains its own application window and transfer credit policies, so make sure you carefully read over the requirements before applying. Although there's a chance your high school transcript may come into consideration, it's more likely that your transfer school's admissions board will evaluate your college transcript.

All transfer students should request letters of recommendation, obtain official college transcripts, and submit their applications by March or April for admission that fall.

The table below presents the application deadlines for 50 popular colleges and universities. Applying to college entails a considerable amount of planning. If you need any essay help, get in touch!

View all posts by Kat Stubing ». Tags: Admissions , applying early , college application deadlines , college applications , college deadlines , college essay advisors , common application , common application deadlines , deadlines , early action , early action application , early action deadline , early applications , early decision , early decision application , early decision deadline.

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