Choosing Between Early and Regular Decision

I'm considering whether to apply early decision or stick to regular decision for my top college choices. How do you decide which is the best path? Are there any particular advantages to early decision?

Deciding between Early Decision (ED) and Regular Decision (RD) can be quite a task. Here's a bit of information that could help guide your decision:

One of the biggest factors when considering ED is your level of certainty about your top-choice school. If you're 100% sure about a specific college and would absolutely choose it over any other schools if accepted, then ED could be a good option. ED is binding, meaning that if you are accepted, you are committed to attend that school, barring extreme circumstances such as insufficient financial aid.

On the flip side, if you're still undecided about your top choice, or you want to compare financial aid packages from several schools, Regular Decision might be a more appropriate choice. RD allows you more freedom to decide and, importantly, gives you until May 1st to make your selection after you've heard back from all your schools.

When it comes to direct advantages: yes, ED does generally improve your chances of acceptance somewhat. Applying ED shows the school that it is your top choice, which can be favorable as schools are keen on accepting students who are most likely to matriculate. On average, applying ED results in a 1.6x or a 60% increase in your chances of admission at highly selective colleges. This advantage becomes smaller as the school's selectivity decreases.

However, keep in mind that though the ED acceptance rate might be higher than the RD one, this does not necessarily mean that the ED pool is less competitive. In fact, the ED applicant pool often includes many highly qualified applicants with a clear first-choice college.

In sum, you should mainly utilize ED if you have a clear first choice school and are ready to commit to attend if accepted. On the other hand, RD is often the best route if you need more time to decide or want to be able to compare financial aid offers. Make sure to carefully weigh the pros and cons before making your decision.