By Charlene Liebau
COLLEGE PREPARATIONS AND ADMISSION EDITOR
Last week the topic was college application deadlines: Early Decision, Early Action, the hybrid Restricted (or Single Choice) Early Action and Regular Decision. Each type of application deadline date raises questions, and some degree of anxiety among students. Is there an advantage to applying “early?” Will it help my chances of being admitted? Unfortunately, there is no single answer to those questions. However, it may help students decide what to do if aware of the advantages and restrictions for each type application “plan.”
To begin, the University of California, along with the California State University system, adhere to the month of November as the only period to submit an application for the following fall term. Specifically, applications must be submitted between Nov. 1 and 30.
Another “exception” to the ED/EA/REA dilemma is the University of Southern California. For students interested in applying to USC the deadline date is January 15th. The University does not participate in either EA or ED programs. However, if a student wishes to be considered for one of USC’s merit-based scholarships the deadline for receipt of all application materials is December 1st. In addition, students applying to one of USC’s programs in music, the arts, or specialized programs in business need to be aware of the December 1st application deadline along with specific, additional requirements.
In general, students interested in applying “early” need to be aware that early application pools tend to be academically stronger than regular decision application pools. If a student is on an upward trend academically it might be well to consider waiting to meet the regular decision deadline. In that way one’s first-semester senior year course of study and grades will be taken into consideration when making an admission decision. The student who applies early should be aware of the college’s freshman class profile. Based on statistics – average grade point and test scores – compare one’s record and if in the higher end can be encouraged to submit an early application. The caveat is to be aware of each college’s policy – are students who apply early and not admitted – automatically deferred to the regular decision pool? If denied, the student may not reapply until the following academic year. The decision to apply ED or EA requires a student to assess his or her academic record in relation to each college’s freshman profile.
Does applying early enhance one’s chances of admission? Thus, should the student use ED/EA as a strategy for admission? Perhaps more important is to consider the implications of applying early. An ED application is a commitment to enroll at that institution if admitted. This is an important statement and must be taken seriously by the student and family. It is true, that for some institutions an Early Decision application is given favor – but the degree of favor among colleges ranges from zero to somewhat significant. From the college perspective, admitting students ED is a “guarantee” of enrolling that student. Given the focus on rankings, some colleges may look to admitting as many ED applicants as possible as it increases “yield” statistics and thus may enhance its ranking.
An Early Action or Restricted Early Action application does not carry the commitment of an ED application and is helpful to the student who “wants to know” how/where they stand. However, this should not be the driving force behind an EA application. Strength of academic and activity record, along with personal characteristics, are the bases for admission decisions. Again, colleges can and often do deny students in the EA and REA round so there are important implications to this type application.
A decision to apply early requires the student to assess academic strengths in relation to each college’s profile and for ED applicants, to also answer the question: Is this where I want to spend the next four years?
Ms. Liebau, the Tribune’s College Preparation and Admissions Editor, is a former Director of Admissions at Caltech and former Dean of Admission at Occidental College. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Stanford University and is an Educational Consultant. She can be reached at: ccliebau@earthlink.net
