Early action or Regular DecisionAnswered
I am trying to weigh the options of early action vs regular admissions. Ideally I would like to wait for my first term grades to come out Nov1, but am wondering how much this would effect the decision for admission. My plan regardless is to apply immediately after the term is complete. Would waiting the few days for the 1st term grades be worth it? Or is early action a better option?
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2 answers
If you don't have perfect grades and are hoping to improve your overall UWGPA and WGPA, then I would wait for your 1st term grades to be available prior to applying to college. Whenever you are hoping to show an upward trend in either grades, test scores ECs, or leadership experience, you want to delay your college application as long as possible. If you are severely lacking or have large gaps, in some extreme cases, a GAP year is recommended. Good luck with your 1st fall semester.
Honestly, it depends:
1. Does the school have an ED1 plan? If so, applying EA might seem as a relative lack of commitment when compared to ED1 or ED2 applicants, decreasing any expected positive effect on the decision.
2. Is it a very selective school? For example, MIT, UChicago, etc. If so, oftentimes the applicant pool during early admissions is a lot more competitive academically, ECs-wise, or in terms of athletic recruitment, so it can be harder to stand out in a pool this much more impressive.
3. Do you expect your 1st term grades will help your overall application? Will they help you show an upward trend in your GPA, the rigor of your classes, or in any other way will they add to your applicant profile. If so, I would recommend you hold off applying until Regular Decision, especially if your top schools meet consideration criterion number 1 or 2 as described above.
However, you should always pay attention to the released statistics and overall reputation of the schools in question, as they do tend to differ and can greatly influence your choices.
Hope this helped :)
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Maybe apply to some schools that you're sure you'll get into EA (your safeties and easier targets), then wait for those to get back and apply to the other schools (or wait a month after you submit the EA apps)