The fall of senior year is an eventful time for high school students. They have to take standardized tests, write their college essays, ask for letters of recommendation, and finish college and scholarship applications. It is a time full of decisions, and one of the biggest decisions a student has to make is whether or not he or she should apply to college through an early admissions program.

Most Common Early Admissions Programs

There are two common types of early application program: early decision and early action. Early decision is a binding commitment where students are obligated to attend the school if accepted. A choice to apply early decision usually has to be made in October because students must finish their application, ask for recommendations, and write their essays by the November 1 (the most common ED deadline). Some schools that offer an early decision program are Columbia University, New York University, and Georgetown University.

Early action, on the other hand, is more like a priority deadline; it is nonbinding and students are allowed to apply to multiple schools before the early November 1 deadline. Applicants receive their admissions decision in December and have until May 1 to decide whether or not to attend. Schools like Northeastern University, University of Connecticut, and Boston College are currently admitting students through early action programs.

Recently there has been a growth in single choice early action (SCEA) programs, which allow students to apply through the early admissions period, but restrict applicants from applying to other school’s early programs. Stanford University and Yale University have recently implemented single choice early action programs, which make up for about one third of their incoming classes.

Why Colleges Use Early Admissions

Put yourself in the position of a college admissions officer. You spend hours reviewing many stellar applications and argue with your colleagues to accept students who you think would be a great addition to the school. In addition, you are forced to deny admissions to many qualified applicants—most of whom would have also been great at your school. You do all this to find out that some of the stellar applicants that you accepted are not attending.

Yield, the rate at which accepted applicants attend a school, is a figure that many admissions counselors are conscious of. When accepting students, they want qualified applicants that want to attend, and early admissions, especially early decision, reduces the guessing involved in the admissions decision. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, “In most early decision programs, students promise they will enroll in the college if they get in. The pledge eliminates some of the guess-work that characterizes the spring admission season, when a college might lose to competitors half or three-fourths of the people it admits.”

Author Recommendations and Personal Input

Early Decision: Applying early decision does have some advantages because a student clearly demonstrates to the college that the school is his number one choice. In my opinion, if you have any questions what so ever if a college is right for you, then you should not apply early decision because it is a binding commitment. I had some friends who got in early decision to a school that was not their first choice and they were unhappy with their college choice. However, if you have a distinct number one choice and financial aid is not a major concern, then applying early decision can relieve some anxiety during your senior year—especially during the spring decisions period.

Early Action: Applying early action can have some great benefits depending on your admissions decision. An early acceptance may allow you to become more aggressive with your college applications by providing a “back up” school. Students who apply early action are generally well qualified because they do not need to take any more standardized tests and because another semester of grades, extracurricular activities, and awards would not benefit their application greatly.

Single choice early action: I applied to Stanford single choice early action. Stanford does not have an early decision program but it has an sing choice early action program. Stanford was my top choice and I was pretty committed to attending. However, I still applied to other schools because I was uncertain about how my Stanford financial aid package would turn out. Since the program was considered early action and was non-binding, I was able to do so without penalty. Had the program been early decision, Stanford would have expected that I attend unless there were financial concerns.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this post are those of its author and do not necessarily represent the views of myCollegeSTAT.com.

Congratulations Seniors on getting into college.

Whether you got into your dream college or not, it is important that you take your time in making the best college decision. Most schools give you until May 1st to make a decision. It is to your advantage to do your due diligence and use your time to make a good decision for yourself and your family.

1) Visit the schools you are considering. Colleges usually have many open houses during the month of April. Sit in on a class and get a sense of the social scene at the school. You can always call the admissions office to ask about any open house programs or opportunities to visit.

2) Check your financial aid packages and make sure there are no errors. Call the financial aid office and make sure they have received all of the documents they need to make the best possible financial aid package. Also, financial aid can get reevaluated during this time period, so do not rule out a school for financial reasons until you are sure you have received their best offer.

3) Talk to alumni and students to get a sense of campus life. Ask them questions like what was there most memorable experience and if they had the option to redo college, would they still go to that college. Also, try to get as many opinions as possible and try to dig up things you don’t like about each college. Better now than later when you are enrolled and paying tuition. You can always ask questions on our forums!

Dear Second Term Seniors,

Congratulations! You are a second term senior. College applications are over and you have nothing to do. Now what?

We have been receiving emails  from many overachieving high school seniors asking us what they should be doing with their new freedom. We decided to put together a list of some ways you can prepare for your transition into college.

1) Take Calculus.
If you are taking AP Calculus I would strongly advise that you focus your efforts on that class. Even if you plan on being a humanities major, many colleges require students to take at least a semester or quarter of math. I’ve found that many students have trouble adapting to how math is taught in college. If you don’t have a strong math background you will be at a disadvantage.

2) Read the news.
Know what is going on in the world. Make sure you know what is going on in our economy and are up to date with issues such as global warming. You don’t have to become an expert. Just know enough to make conversation about it.

3) Look for scholarships.
You would be surprise to find out that most high school seniors don’t even apply for a single scholarship. You can ask your guidance counselor for more information or go to fastweb.com

4) Volunteer.
It is an extremely rewarding experience to be able to give back to your community or your school. Find a cause that you are passionate about and do what you can do to help it.

5) Thank your teachers.
Stop by one of your old teachers room just to say, “Hi.” Thank them for all they have helped you with. Tell them about what you have been doing. Let them know where you applied and what you want to do. A little conversation can go a long way.

6. KEEP UP YOUR GRADES!
You may think second term senior year don’t grades count, but they do. If you get waitlisted, you will probably give them an update of how you have been performing academically. In addition, if you want to transfer these grades are going to matter. Remember that your acceptance is conditional which means colleges have the right to rescind your admissions. This is not to say go paranoid if you receive a B. The unwritten rule among many top universities is don’t fall below a B. Once you drop below that your case can be reviewed.

These next few months will be memorable. Make sure you enjoy your time with your high school friends because some of them you will never see again. Enjoy prom and all that crazy stuff seniors do. However, use your best judgment. Don’t get arrested and don’t do anything that questions your ethics. Something like a criminal offense can quickly leave you without a college.

Enjoy senior year– it only happens once.

Hi guys,

You will notice that we have a new layout! We are also coming out with new features very soon.

We want to hear from you! Tell us what you think about the new layout. What features do you want us to have?
Email me at kwong@myCollegeSTAT.com

Here is a video produced by Vanderbilt University. It is about the college admission process and gives some useful tips. Pay special attention to 17:00 into the video.

-Kyle Wong