We love lists. We’ve written a lot of itemized lists over the years that help guide you through various overwhelming steps of this big process we call the college admissions cycle. It’s July, which means it’s time to begin finalizing your college lists and deciding on which school(s) you’re going to be applying to during early decision or early action deadlines. Commitment seems super scary, now more than ever. So we understand that the prospect of early decision might seem nearly impossible to consider. Right now there are more questions than answers, and more information gets released every single day that seems to impact students and their admissions chances and college experiences.
Many high schools went Pass/Fail for grading, extracurriculars and internships were cancelled, and nearly all colleges are going test-optional or eliminating early admissions rounds. Now, they’re announcing various hybrid plans for ongoing remote learning. How does one weigh the concept of commitment during this time? We can nearly guarantee that there’s more info we have literally no idea about right now, because the global pandemic is evolving hourly! That’s a blast.
So, what are the pros and cons of applying during the early decision round this year? How do you account for things known and unknown? During a time when it feels safest to hedge and procrastinate, we’ve come up with a few key points that are worth considering right now.
Pros
The playing field has been slightly levelled, which means it’s easier to POP if you try very hard.
You have an opportunity to really stand out with your essay because this last year has been a bit of a wash for basically everyone. Junior year second semester was cancelled. How colleges evaluate testing and GPA are going to shift, which can work to your advantage if your essay and how you highlight how you’ve used this time are stellar parts of your application.
We’ve written a lot about how to utilize this time to expand your interests and contribute to your community in meaningful ways. We really recommend implementing some of this advice ASAP. It’s going to matter.
Also, the obvious:
And of course, the biggest pro of all: if you get in, you’re done with the whole application process. Boom.
Cons
Potential for higher numbers of deferrals.
Some people think that schools are going to defer more kids than ever because they won't have enough information about students. We’re not quite buying this because schools like Princeton and Harvard already defer 53-75%+ of their early applicants, so if they were to up their deferrals by 5-10%, it wouldn’t make that big of a difference to you specifically. The people who think that deferrals are going to increase advise waiting it out and applying RD. It’s hard to predict what will happen with deferrals because there is just so much we don’t know.
The great unknown.
To state the obvious, we literally have no clue what could happen in ~4 months, much less 6 months, or a year. The world could be different. And if circumstances are constantly changing, is it really wise to place a bet in these conditions? If getting involved in a binding financial decision situation gives you immense anxiety—which is completely understandable, by the way—you should take that into account. We never advise making yourself anxious.
So, what are colleges looking for right now, particularly during the early rounds? We know what we don’t know, which is a lot right now. But what we predict is that money is going to remain a huge player in early admissions. It will look a bit different this year, but people are going to have more need in terms of financial aid. The early round gives colleges the chance to have some control over cash flow and gives them the opportunity to secure a chunk of guaranteed change (read: full-paying students). Studies have shown that the early round enables colleges to control the amount of non-need based (merit, other private scholarships, etc.) aid money that is distributed early on and amass tuition from wealthy students that are admitted, which enables them to offer more need-based aid later on. Read: full-paying students more frequently benefit within an early decision system.
Also, we know historically, individuals from lower-income backgrounds are less likely to apply early decision because of access to resources that emphasize and optimize for this route. In the 2013-2014 application season,”16% of high-achieving students from families with annual incomes below $50,000 applied for college admission on an early-decision basis.” So that’s a thing.
We really want you to think about the above, and how these particular points resonate with you. We don’t have an answer, and we don’t think that either path is “right” or “wrong,” because every person and their circumstances are different.
It is important to note, though, that, as of right now, basically all of the students that we work with on an individual basis will be applying early. We of course continuously assess and discuss these options in an in-depth way when putting together college lists and strategies. But, we’ve determined that because their goal is to get into the college that: a) they are most excited about, AND b) is a great fit for their interests, background, and admissions profile, the best decision is to apply early.
Let us know if you need some more in-depth advice -- that’s why we’re here.