Early Decision is your most powerful tool in the college application process. Even after your scores are set, your grades are final, and your activities are locked in stone, you can still control what school you apply to Early Decision, or ED — and if you apply ED at all.
Applying ED isn’t for everyone. You shouldn’t apply ED, for example, if there isn’t a school you’re passionate about. If you’re just feeling ‘ehhhh,’ that’s not a good ED fit. If you are confident in your first-choice school, the benefits of applying ED are obvious. ED acceptance rates are notably higher than Early Action (EA), Regular Decision (RD), or even Early Decision II (EDII). For colleges, accepting a higher percentage of students Early Decision pays off. One of the most important statistics for colleges is their “Yield Rate,” or the percentage of accepted students who enroll. Since Early Decision is a binding agreement that the student will attend if accepted, ED acceptances are an automatic yield rate boost. But how should you decide where to apply to ED, and is applying ED to a reach school a good idea?
Most of the students we work with come to us with an idea of where to shoot for ED. Often, that initial idea necessitates a longer conversation. This is because the higher ED acceptance rate can be a bit misleading. While a higher acceptance rate for ED applicants technically means that it’s easier to get in, it’s not the opening of the floodgates so many imagine. The difference between an 11% acceptance rate and a 9% acceptance rate is rather inconsequential — especially if you were already on the cusp of being a ‘good fit’ for the school, also known as the school being a reach.
We use the term “reach school” a lot in college admissions, but not many people take the time to consider what a school being a “reach” really means. A school is a reach if:
Your grades are a little below the middle 50% of admitted students
Your scores are a little below the middle 50% of admitted students
You do not have an ‘institutional in’ aka you’re not related to a member of the faculty or administration, the child of a major donor, or a recruited athlete
But the middle 50% means average, right? Why would that be a reach? Well, not really when it comes to college admissions. Many of the accepted students who fall in the middle 50% or below have something else going for them as far as admissions are concerned. They may be a recruited athlete, a faculty kid, or another of those ‘institutional in’s’ we mentioned above. They aren’t reflective of the norm, but their stats impact the whole, which results in numbers that are misleading for aspiring applicants.
If your grades or scores are far below the middle 50% of admitted students, the school is a “far reach.” It might still be possible to get in.
If the school you are considering applying to ED is a far reach, we cannot blindly recommend applying to it ED in every circumstance. It’s a waste of your most valuable card. If the school is a reach, though, it may still be worth applying ED if you meet a few criteria.
If you want to apply to a reach school Early Decision, you must:
Have a clear vision of what you intend to study and be able to articulate why the school is the best place for you to pursue that subject.
Have extremely impressive activities, including one or two activities that are truly exceptional. Summer programs, or other academic opportunities that you pay to attend, do not count. Examples include internships, high-caliber performance in sports, research positions, jobs, or long-term leadership positions outside of school.
Have started your application well in advance of the deadline. A rushed Early Decision application to a reach school is a waste of an application and a waste of your ED card. It is better to wait and apply RD with a strong application than to send a weak application in early.
Remember, you don’t get a second chance if you’re rejected ED. This is it. Use it wisely.
If you are considering applying ED to a reach school, send us an email. We help students stand out from the crowd.