There are many benefits and drawbacks to applying early to colleges, whether it’s early action or early decision—early action being non-binding, so the student doesn’t have to commit to the school right away, and early decision being a binding decision, where if they are accepted to the school, they have already committed.
Applying early has many benefits but also drawbacks. Starting the tedious college application process a couple months earlier reduces the amount of stress by cutting down the student’s waiting time for a decision.
“I applied earlier to some schools because I knew that if I got into at least one, it would save me a couple months of stressing about whether I got into some schools or not,” senior Andrew Vignolo said.
In some cases, applying for early decision could possibly give that student’s application a little extra push by showing that school you are serious about attending.
“All those books, brochures, online comparisons and college visits may seem tedious at first, but they definitely pay off in the end. It really takes the stress off my shoulders, and the great thing is I can hear back sooner by applying early,” senior Daniel Moghtader said.
“I knew I wanted to apply early decision since I was a sophomore because I knew that I wanted to go to Wake Forest. I also knew that I could apply in the summer of my junior year and hear back in the first month of school, which was just another benefit. But basically I’ve always known I wanted to go there, so I didn’t see a reason not to apply early decision,” senior Nadia Belton said.
But, there are also many drawbacks to sending in applications early.
When a student applies for early decision, they have the pressure to decide on one specific school, so it puts unwanted stress on the student to make a huge decision before they may have had time to explore other options.
Also, applying early decision or early action causes a time crunch if the applicants don’t get into his or her early schools.
“I decided to apply regular decision because I wanted to make sure I could send my new grades and wanted to perfect my SAT score and take it step by step instead of rush everything and not be fully content with where I was,” senior Chloe Richman said.
Applying with regular decision gives the applicant more time to get his or her test scores, and it allows them to send in his or her first semester grades for senior year.
“I could present a better application after the first semester grades were in, versus applying without any grades from senior year,” senior Alec Abajian said.