Applying Early Decision to College

Applying Early Decision to College June 23, 2012 Applying Early Decision to college is often a good idea but students should use their Early cards wisely. Applying Early Decision to college is often a great idea. Students who apply through Early Decision (or Early Action depending on the university) stand better odds than do students who apply through Regular Decision. Its that simple. If you want further evidence, check out our Ivy League Statistics  and see the percentage of applicants who were admitted Early. Then, compare it to the percentage of applicants who were admitted via Regular Decision. Notice a trend? But in our experience, many students waste their Early cards. Thats right they waste them. How so? They waste them by applying to a school through Early Decision that they dont have a shot of getting into. In fact, the vast majority of college applicants do just this. Often after we review our students transcripts, SAT / ACT scores, and extracurricular activities,  we look into our crystal ball and tell these students (and their parents) that they are not going to be accepted at the college to which they intend to apply Early to. A student with a 480 on his Math SAT (ok, we went a bit extremequite a bit extreme!) isnt going to get into Yale. So to apply Early Decision to Yale in this students case would be absurd and a waste of his Early Decision card. Hes not going to get in. Its totally okay to apply to a reach school with your Early Decision or Early Action card. Dont waste your Early card on a school that you think youll definitely get into unless you are certain you want to go to that school. We just want to stress that the reach shouldnt be an enormous reach because then its a complete waste of the ace in your back pocket. Dont waste your ace. Apply to a realistic reach with the strongest application possible. And, yes, we can be of great help as you seek to submit the strongest application possible to your Early school.