Early action v early decision v regular decision. What’s the difference?

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As you enter your final year of school, university application deadlines will be fast approaching. Those applying to US universities are sure to be confronted with the option to apply in the “early action” (EA), “early decision” (ED) or “regular decision” (RD) rounds. To make things even more complicated, some universities offer early decision in two categories with two different deadlines. But applying early isn’t as straightforward as clicking “submit” two months sooner. In most cases, doing so requires a degree of commitment to the school you are applying to.

Early in the application process, students build a list of universities to apply to based on their qualifications and preferences, such as area of study, school size, location. Often, one or two colleges will rise to the top of the list. Because early applicants have better odds of getting accepted at most universities, applying early can be hugely advantageous if your top choice is, without a doubt, the one you want to attend. 

However, there are implications associated with applying in the EA or ED rounds – the main one being that, when it comes to ED, accepting an offer is binding. Read more to find out what each application stream entails and the benefits and drawbacks of the various application options.

Early action

Applying EA means that you submit your application approximately two months earlier than the RD deadline (for most schools the EA deadline is 1 November, while RD deadlines are usually around 1 January). By applying EA, you are demonstrating to admissions officers that you’re proactive and, more importantly, that you chose to apply early to their school. This indicates a level of dedication to that institution.

When you apply EA, you receive an admission decision early in the admission cycle (usually mid-December), but you do not need to accept or reject the offer right away. You can wait until you’ve received decisions from your applications in the RD round, in which case you would not have to make your final decision until 1 May.

This seems like a win-win situation. If successful, you can hold that valuable EA offer up your sleeve while you apply to your other choices. But this is why very few institutions offer EA – Harvard, Princeton, Yale and MIT are examples. Universities with EA rounds generally know that if you get in, you are very likely to accept their offer and, as a result, do not usually make this decision binding.

Universities that offer ED, on the other hand, like successful applicants to sign on the dotted line early – largely so they don’t receive offers from other universities in the regular round.

Early decision

The primary difference between EA and ED is that the former is non-binding, while the latter commits you to the university if you receive an offer. ED offers are strict agreements between school and student; you shouldn’t apply in the ED round if you aren’t certain about the university. More to the point, if you don’t accept the ED offer, you can’t apply to that university again in the regular round.

When you apply ED, you reap the same benefits as applying EA, except your odds of acceptance are higher because you show a greater degree of commitment to that school. Admissions officers know that an ED offer is binding, so your willingness to apply under that condition assures them that you will accept and be committed to – and excited about – your upcoming experience at that school.

Remember, if you reject an ED offer you can’t resubmit an application to that school in the RD round – in other words, you’re in or you’re out.

Early Decision I v Early Decision II

Some universities (such as the University of Chicago) offer two ED rounds. The sole difference between ED I and ED II is timing – one deadline (around 1 November for ED I) comes sooner than the other (around 1 January for ED II). Understandably, ED I acceptance rates tend to be slightly higher, but ED II acceptance rates are still higher than RD rates.

Once again, universities want you to show your commitment early – ED II offers are usually released in February, a month or more before RD notifications. In these cases, you must decide whether to accept prior to receiving any RD offers, reinforcing your preference with a binding decision to attend.

Why apply early?

Applying early demonstrates your commitment to a university, which is important to admissions officers who have class quotas to fill. Each year, admissions officers extend a predetermined number of offers with the goal of filling every available seat in the incoming class. To account for students who choose to attend other universities, they extend more offers than there are places, but there’s no way of knowing how large the gap will be between the number of students who receive offers and those who matriculate.

This is why applying early increases your odds of getting into your preferred institution and can be a good strategy for students who are certain of their top school choices. This is especially true for ED applicants, who are bound to accept their offers, meaning admissions officers can be certain that those places will be filled by every student who receives an early offer.

Check out the ED v RD admission statistics for the class of 2024 at top universities:

Class of 2024 early admission stats

Regular decision

Finally, RD uses the standard published application deadlines, and applicants are assessed in a much larger pool and on a much longer timeline. Typical RD deadlines fall between mid-December and mid-January, and schools have until late March or early April to notify applicants of their admissions decisions.

The good news with RD is that there is no limit to the number of schools you can apply to. The not-so-good news is that you are assessed as one of tens of thousands of applicants.

In the end, there’s no blanket rule for how each student should apply, which is part of the reason why it can be so confusing.

At Crimson Education, we have a global network of expert strategists who work one-to-one with each student to compile the perfect university application list and application strategy – including deciding when to apply to which school. This is just one reason why Crimson students are four times more likely to be accepted into a top US school, including those in the Ivy League, than general applicants. Why not find out more about how Crimson Education can support your journey towards admission at your dream school?