IQx.com - Colleges and Universities Information Online

Applying Early

Finally a student has cut down the list of schools and is considering applying early to get the ball rolling on his/her college plans. Typically, there are three ways that a student can apply early and some universities may offer more than one of the following options:

• Early Action (EA), which allows a student to apply to more than one school early and gives him/her an early answer about his/her acceptance. EA applications shouldn’t be used liberally by applying this way to every school on a student’s list. Having the ability to submit multiple EAs doesn’t mean the student should feel free to overuse it.
• Early Decision (ED), which also gives a student an early answer, but restricts him/her to applying ED to only one school and requires that the student will guarantee up front that (s)he’ll enroll if he/she is accepted. If the student is, that student must withdraw his/her applications to any other colleges. He/she is committed to the school and can’t apply anywhere else, even during the regular admission season.
• Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) or Restrictive Early Action (REA) is the newest option, which limits a student to applying early to only one school to get an answer in advance about acceptance. It’s not binding, but restricts the student from applying anywhere else under an EA or ED application. The student can apply elsewhere during regular admission and does not have to make a decision to enroll until the school’s regular deadline.

Sunday, March 1st, 2009, by Gem and is filed under "Undergraduate, acceptance, admission, applying, colleges, early, enroll, schools, student, universities ". Both comments and pings are currently closed.