College Counseling Vocabulary Crash Course
There are so many new terms to learn while navigating the college admission process. Early Decision vs. Early Action vs. Regular Decision…oh wait, there is more! Early Decision II, Rolling Admission, Restrictive Early Action, Deferrals, Waitlists, Spring Admits…is your head spinning yet?
In Part I of this newsletter (Part II will come next month!), I’ll be covering the difference between Early Decision, Early Action, Early Decision II, and Rolling Admission.
One of the most important parts of my job is coaching my clients and their families on how and when to apply to college. College admission representatives and college tour guides deemphasize the importance of carefully reflecting on which path an institution offers that leads to an acceptance letter. This is confusing and frustrating for families, so let me break it down for you using guidance straight from the Magnolia Method!
Early decision
Early Decision is a binding agreement between a student, their parents, the high school counselor, and the university. If a student applies Early Decision to an institution and is admitted, they are committing to attend and must withdraw all other applications. This gets confused with Early Action, so I remind students to think about the word “decide.” If admitted, you have “decided.” I hope this hint helps you, too!
About ⅓-½ of my applicants each year apply with a binding Early Decision application. It is an incredible tool to leverage, and here’s why—you are, typically, far more likely to get accepted because Early Decision applicant pools are smaller, and many colleges use this path to protect their yield (the percentage of students who enroll after being accepted to a school).
In recent years, especially as applicant pools have grown exponentially, colleges have struggled to figure out who is actually going to enroll. An Early Decision applicant is a sure thing! I use a tool called College Planner Pro with my clients, which shares Early Decision data from the previous year on the profile. This helps us decide on a strategy that maximizes acceptance. For example, Tulane University had 1,853 applicants in their Early Decision pool and admitted 1,258—a 68% admit rate. Conversely, in Regular Decision, they had 29,652 applicants and admitted 2,368—an 8% acceptance rate. This information is not shared on tours; in fact, it is discouraged from being discussed!
So, why doesn’t everyone apply Early Decision with these improved odds? Well…money, and often BIG money! While most colleges still consider applicants for merit-based scholarships who apply Early Decision, they often minimize or eliminate these awards in their acceptance offers—YIKES!
With my clients, I define what we are prioritizing—merit scholarships or acceptances. Every family has different priorities, values, and resources when making these big decisions.
Things to Know:
The most popular Early Decision deadline to apply is November 1st.
Outcomes vary by college but can be accepted, denied, deferred, or waitlisted.
EARLY ACTION
Early Action is a non-binding agreement to apply early, and typically (there are exceptions), find out about acceptance between early/mid-December and late January. When an institution offers it, I always encourage my clients to apply Early Action over Regular Decision. This is because the odds of acceptance are pretty staggering, similar to Early Decision.
For example, Santa Clara University, where my oldest daughter will graduate from next May (GO BRONCOS!), has an 81% Early Action acceptance rate and a 31% acceptance rate in Regular Decision. The stronger applicants apply in the earlier rounds! I still managed to have a lot of my clients deferred at Santa Clara last year, but the numbers speak volumes. Your best outcomes are in the earlier rounds!
Things to Know:
Early Decision II outcomes are most often accepted, denied, or waitlisted.
Early decision II
Like Early Decision I (ED I), in Early Decision II (ED II), the agreement is binding, but you submit this application later, typically in the first week of January of senior year.
I leverage ED II in 2 ways: 1) You didn’t get into your ED I school, so we apply ED II to a second choice, or 2) and this is interesting…you were deferred by an institution to which you applied Early Action, so you can FLIP your Early Action deferral to Early Decision II. CRAZY! MIND BLOWN!
I have several students who do this, and it surprises me how many people don’t know that is an option. A third and less likely scenario for me is a client who is just not ready to apply Early Decision I. They need the time to secure higher scores and grades in the first semester or their heart couldn’t decide what to do in November.
The numbers on Early Decision II are more opaque as many colleges combine their Early Decision I and II numbers. I have a mix of clients for whom this option is appealing and makes sense—for example, someone competitive for the Ivies who didn’t get into Cornell with Early Decision I and decides to apply Early Decision II to Vanderbilt. Or, I may have a client with a pretty low GPA who has a stellar first semester, and we know their only shot is Early Decision II. Every student is unique!
Things to Know
Early Decision II outcomes are most often accepted, denied, or waitlisted.
Rolling acceptance
Rolling Admission means that when you apply, your high school submits their materials on your behalf, and you submit your test scores if you are including them. A decision will come in as little as a few days, but typically 2-4 weeks after applying.
Many public universities have Rolling Admission deadlines, and many of my clients have acceptances already from colleges like The University of Alabama and The University of Arizona with scholarship offers. This offers great comfort in the months ahead.
If you are my client, you LOVE your whole list, so even though these schools are safeties (a great likelihood for acceptance), they are thrilled to know they are accepted somewhere they would be happy to attend, even if it is not their first choice!
If you apply in an earlier round, the last test that one can typically take is the September ACT and/or the October SAT.
Some outcomes are dicey! The University of Virginia either admits, denies, or waitlists you in both Early Decision and Early Action rounds. There is no “second chance” with a waitlist (more on this next month!), and with the exception of a few schools, a deferral is likely a no or, ultimately, a waitlist offer. This must be considered.
Want to know where you can see the data? If you are my client, the Common Data Set is available on the College Planner Pro platform. You can also Google the Common Data Set for any given university. For example, view pages 20-21 on UVA’s Common Data Set—you can see the data for last year. Some colleges, like U Michigan, don’t include this data for Early Action, but most do.
Be thoughtful and make a good decision for your family. Decide on your priorities early on, and PLEASE tell your children what your financial priorities are!
It is very confusing for your child to think you are “going to figure it out” when figuring out $400,000 (the total cost of four year of college at many colleges) is pretty difficult for most. Also, and conversely, don’t tell them they can go anywhere they apply, and then don’t give them the option to apply Early Decision if money has not been a consideration or conversation beforehand.
Saying, “If you can get into an Ivy, you can go!” and then saying, “Well…only if you apply Regular Decision.” puts your child at risk of a denial that you nor they might be not be expecting. Instead, say early on, “We are not considering Early Decision. It limits us financially.” You are the parents and you have the right to say this. This might make your child uncomfortable or even sad—OK! Sometimes, our kids are sad, uncomfortable, and mad at us.
Save yourself the drama early on, be upfront and transparent, and remember, you will be fine, and they will be GREAT! They have YOU as their parents!
Whether you’re a student, parent, teacher, or advisor—you recognize the tremendous benefit of higher education and its impact on shaping one’s future. And no matter your role within this incredibly defining decision-making process, it can be a stressful time for you.
I’m here to be your advisor, organizer, tutor, cheerleader, friend, and compass through this journey. I’ve helped over 2,000 students locate and gain acceptance to the college of their dreams, and I’m so excited to help you, too.
Let’s get to work!
-Allie Pierson, Founder