What Do Early Options Mean in the Process? - Nancy Federspiel, Director

The early options month is here! There is no doubt that the early options for applying to college have gotten a little complicated and somewhat confusing. There is Rolling Admissions, Early Decision, Early Action and Restricted Early Action or Early Action Single Choice. Oh yes, and some schools offer both Early Action plans and Early Decision plans, not to mention two rounds of Early Decision (EDI and EDII). If you haven't studied up on the particulars of these plans it can be overwhelming. The first thing to do is to understand the differences among these options. The second thing to do is to evaluate these choices for your individual situation and decide if any of these options is right for you.

Rolling Admissions is pretty straightforward. Many large public universities use this style of admissions to spread out the workload for their admissions staff. With an institution that uses a rolling admissions plan, you can apply early without any strings attached. You don't have to promise to go there if accepted - you simply apply early and they will get back with an answer as soon as they can (usually between 2 and 6 weeks later). You have until May, like with most schools, to decide if you want to enroll there or not. I am working with a student who applied to one of his top choice schools that happened to have a rolling admissions policy. He had his application in by the beginning of October and he had an acceptance letter in hand before Halloween. Not a bad way to go.

Early Decision plans, on the other hand, involve a binding agreement. Under this plan the student must sign an agreement up front that says that he is not applying Early Decision to any other institution and if he is accepted then he must enroll at that Early Decision school and withdraw any pending Regular Decision applications. Typically the Early Decision applications are due in early November and the student gets notified of either an acceptance, a denial or a deferral by Christmas time. (Unless, of course, it is a college that offers ED II in which case they may have a second deadline in January with notification coming in February.) A great option, but only if the student is 100% certain about which school is her first choice. Harvard University recently eliminated this plan and other leading universities are rethinking the option as well.

Early Action plans are similar in that applications are usually due in early November and answers are usually received in December. With EA, however, the agreement is not binding. The student does not need to promise to enroll if accepted by the college. The student may apply to more than one college under an Early Action plan. (Unless, of course, the school follows a plan called Early Action Single Choice or Restricted Early Action. In this case the student does not have to promise to enroll if accepted but they do have to promise to apply to only one school under an Early Action Plan.) EA can be a great way for students to reduce their stress level while waiting for the final outcome in May.

No wonder the National Association for College Admission Counseling came out with an entire directory that addresses only the early application policies for four-year colleges and universities. It will go to good use. Clearly, there are many early options in college admissions. Keep in mind that they were originally designed to reduce stress and not to add to it. Early plans are not for everyone. They are merely an option, and if you are not ready to commit early, then don't.