Students consider early decision

APPLY NOW OR LATER?

Seniors divided on whether or not to apply early decision to college

Josephine Philips chief marketing manager | Alexa Sribar Reporter

With college deadlines looming, seniors have been scrambling to put together their college applications. Between finishing essays, creating resumes and coaxing their teachers into writing recommendation letters, applicants also faced the decision of whether or not to apply early decision (ED).

ED is a process in which college applicants can apply early to a school under a contractual agreement that they must attend that school if they are accepted. For this reason, applying ED is often a topic of debate for students.

“Applying ED signals to a college that you are very interested in their school,” McLean College and Career Specialist Mary Barnes said. “You are making a huge commitment to attend this school if accepted.”

With smaller pools of people applying, ED is the quickest route to being accepted into a first-choice college.

“Acceptance rates in ED pools are typically higher than those in regular decision pools,” Barnes said. Many students at McLean who choose to commit ED apply to in-state schools because of the lower prices compared to out-of-state colleges. The University of Virginia (UVA) is ranked the third best public university by the Princeton Review, which makes it a top choice for McLean students.

“I’m applying [ED] to UVA because it makes my chances of getting in higher,” senior Atharva Jadhav said. “I want to go there because it has the best college for my major, Computer Science and Business, and the in-state prices are appealing.”

Students are also drawn by the earlier release of decisions.

“In most cases, students will hear back from their schools before winter break,” Barnes said.

If students get into their choice ED school, they no longer have the option to consider any other colleges.

“If accepted, you must immediately withdraw your applications from any other schools you applied to,” Barnes said. “Students need to weigh whether to [apply] ED very carefully.”

Due to the binding nature of ED, many students apply during the regular decision cycle or apply early action, which is nonbinding but still offers students the benefit of finding out whether or not they have been accepted to their top-choice colleges.

“I didn’t want to ED because I want to keep my options open,” senior Freya Milbury said. “I have never really had a dream college, and I want the chance to visit and explore my options.”

Barnes cautions that being accepted to a school ED does not guarantee any assistance with attendance costs.

“You are getting your acceptance without any idea of whether you will receive any merit or financial aid,” Barnes said.

With the various pros and cons of ED, students at McLean have distinctly different opinions on which option is best for them.

“I think other people may choose ED because they are sure they’ve found their dream college and know exactly what they want to do,” Milbury said. “I think it’s great that people know exactly what they want. That’s just not the case for me.”

I DIDN’T WANT TO [APPLY EARLY DECISION] BECAUSE I WANT TO KEEP MY OPTIONS OPEN.”

- FREYA MILBURY SENIOR