The deadline for applying Early Decision 2 is only days away at many selective colleges. Early Decision 2 can be an appealing option for students who were denied (or deferred) at their Early Decision I choice. It can also be attractive for many who just needed more time to decide on their first choice college, or for those who needed to polish off some fine fall grades and/or another standardized test to be more competitive in the admissions process.
Like ED1, ED2 is a binding application. In other words, if you are accepted, you are expected to attend. However, a student is released from the binding nature of the ED application if he is unable to attend due to financial considerations. The language in the ED agreement that must be submitted with the application looks like this :
“Should a student who applies for financial aid not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, the student may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment.”
Every college is required to have a Net Price Calculator on its website, which enables a family to enter data regarding its’ income and assets in order to yield an estimate of the student’s net price. It is a good idea to go through this exercise to be sure that the college being considered for early decision is at least in the ballpark for affordability. If a student is accepted ED but the financial aid offered is not consistent with the results of the Net Price Calculator, or if the family has special circumstances which are not reflected in the FAFSA and/or PROFILE, the family should always consult with the financial aid office to see whether additional assistance might be possible. ED applications should always be made in good faith.
One of the most compelling reasons for considering Early Decision is the statistical bump in admissions that it frequently provides. But ED2 does not offer quite as much of a statistical advantage as ED1. The acceptance rate for ED1 exceeds that of ED2 by more than 10 percentage points at all five of these selective liberal arts colleges.
College Acceptance Rates: Class of 2018
Early Decision 1 Early Decision 2 Regular Decision Overall
Bates 45.2 35.3 23.2 25.4
Colby 54.1 38.8 25.8 28.1
Colgate 48.4 36.9 24.3 26.2
Hamilton 40.7 29.2 24.9 26.4
Middlebury 41.8 15.8 15.1 17.3
Applicants typically look to the overall acceptance rates (column 4) to consider their admissions chances. It is actually more realistic to review the Regular Decision acceptance rates (column 3), which do not include the higher acceptance rates attributable to Early Decision applicants. It can help you to decide whether ED2 makes sense by comparing the ED2 acceptance rate to the Regular Decision rate. Except for Middlebury, ED2 still provides an advantage in admissions for the above schools. Any student considering ED2 should know these numbers for his target school in order to make an informed decision. We can help you to assemble this information and to decide if ED2 is right for you.
Colgate University
Colby College
Many schools also give you the option of applying Regular Decision and then switching your application to ED2 before a deadline. For example, Colgate allows a student to apply Regular Decision and then switch to ED2 before March 1, with the submission of the Early Decision Agreement. This provides some extra time to consider strategy and finances.
One HUGE caveat – Early Decision is not a way to gain admission to a school for which you are not qualified. In other words, if your grades and test scores are below the averages for the college’s most recently enrolled class, ED is not likely to give you an edge. But if your academic profile is as good or better than the averages for the most recent class, you just might be admitted under Early Decision before space becomes scarce in the regular round.
Hamilton College
Bates College
Many liberal arts colleges fill almost half of their classes in the early decision rounds. Early Decision helps colleges to deal with the otherwise unpredictable enrollment of students admitted in the Regular Decision round. If your academic profile is above the 75th percentile, your essays are strong and your extracurriculars are solid, they might love to take you during the Early Decision round when they know you will attend and your stats will raise the academic profile of their school.
Middlebury College
