Can you apply Early Action and then Regular Decision?

I'm a bit confused about application strategies. Is it possible to apply Early Action to one school and then apply Regular Decision to others? How does this affect your chances or anything with each school?

Yes, you definitely can apply Early Action (EA) to one school and then apply Regular Decision (RD) to other schools. EA is non-binding unlike Early Decision (ED), which does not require you to commit if you are admitted. Applying EA means you'll hear back earlier from that school (usually in mid-December), but you have until the national response date on May 1st to make your final decision about where you want to attend.

Now, on how this affects your chances, applying EA can slightly increase your chances of getting admitted since it can demonstrate your keen interest in that particular school. However, the primary benefit of EA is that it allows you to hear back from a school earlier, which can provide a sense of security or give you more time to make your final college decision. You will have a chance to see if you've been accepted to that EA school before your RD applications are due, which might affect where you decide to apply RD.

As for the RD applications, applying RD won't affect your chances either positively or negatively at your EA school or any other schools. Each application is reviewed in the context of its own pool (EA, ED, or RD), and admissions officers understand that students apply to multiple schools . They will be looking at your application in terms of how well you fit with their school and what you can contribute. So, your decision to apply EA to one school should not impact your RD applications to other schools.

Remember though that there are some restrictions dependent on the EA process of some schools. A few colleges have a Restrictive Early Action policy, which means that you can not apply to any binding Early Decision programs while applying EA to them. So, always check each college's specific policy on Early Action before applying.

In general, you want your overall strategy to involve a mix of reach, match, and safety schools to ensure you've thoroughly reviewed all possible outcomes. Best of luck with your applications!