Should I Apply EDII (Early Decision 2)?

Over the last few years, Early Decision II, or EDII, has risen from a rare option offered by few schools and known by a relative handful of students to a well-known route to admissions. Even until recently, students rarely came to us with EDII in mind. And yet, quite predictably, as more schools have added EDII to their roster of admissions options, more students have jumped at the opportunity.

Despite being the lesser-known sibling of standard Early Decision, Early Decision II, which has the same binding agreement as EDI but on the Regular Decision timeline, is an excellent option for a wide variety of students. Students who didn’t get into their EDI pick, missed the EDI deadline, or who have a strong first choice school that offers EDII are all great fits for the EDII track to admissions. EDII is also an option worth considering for students who aren’t dead set on any particular school but who feel like a school on their list that offers EDII is a good fit and, given their EA outcomes, would be their strongest academic and community match.  

If you are considering applying EDII or are curious if EDII is a good option for you, there are some key questions you should ask yourself before you press submit!

Do you have a first-choice or top-choice pick that offers EDII?

While these questions aren’t in any particular order, this one definitely should be one of the first you ask because it’s a basic feasibility test. If your first choice or one of your top three choices doesn’t offer EDII, EDII isn’t an option for you unless you are willing to sacrifice the possibility of admissions to one of your top schools for the potential security of an EDII acceptance.  

Did you get into anywhere EA that you are very interested in?

Suppose you were accepted Early Action, or EA, by any schools that you are very interested in. In that case, EDII is not an option for you unless you are willing to turn away from your EA opportunities to embrace an EDII acceptance. On the flip side, having EA acceptances that you are interested in may actually make applying EDII an even better option for you. If EDII doesn’t work out, you have a fallback, or even fallbacks, that you’d be totally happy with — which would be ideal!  

Do you prioritize the feeling of certainty over having time to make a choice?

Let’s be honest; applying to college is a grueling process. We get it, and most students want it to be over sooner rather than later. Some are willing to wait, though, in hopes of their most ideal outcome. They may go from applying ED to a deferral, deferral to a waitlist, and, sometimes, rarely but sometimes, to acceptance. This can be an excruciating process, but it feels worth it for those who get an acceptance in the end. Others, those with less risk tolerance, aren’t up for a roller coaster ride. Maybe an ED rejection awakened you to how badly you want the college process to be over, or you simply want more for your free time than writing supplements. If you are ready to be done, EDII can be a great way of streamlining the college application process after the early application cycle has passed.

Are you confident in what you want to study, and does your potential EDII school excel at it?

If you know what you want to study, you need to go to a college that offers it. That should be obvious. Ideally, though, your college will do more than just offer your major — they’ll excel at it. The major department will have depth, with a variety of courses and a strong line-up of professors. If no school excels in your major and offers EDII, EDII is not an option for you. This is rare, but it does happen enough that it’s worth watching out for.  

Finally, is the EDII option you are considering a safety, a target, or a reach?

When you’re considering applying EDII, you need to determine if the school you have in mind is a safety, a target, or a reach. In most cases, we suggest that students who are considering EDII choose a school that is a target or a close reach. EDII acceptance rates are higher than Regular Decision acceptance rates, but they aren’t astronomically high. Similar to apply Early Decision I, applying EDII doesn’t turn a far reach school into a target. You need to be strategic, which means picking a school within the realm of possibility.

If, after working through these questions and considering your options, you think applying EDII is a good fit for you, send us an email! We specialize in helping students craft applications that stand out from the rest of the field.