Early Decision vs Regular Decision

Put aside the Suburban Legends (tips from parents in the parking lot) about how not applying Early Decision ruins your chances of getting into your #1 college. Colleges feed this frenzy and parents just lap up the fear and hysteria. Choose just one college to apply Early Decision (binding), a few more for Early Action (non-binding), and the rest Regular. 

Senior year for most students is a time of discovery.  They’re still young – just 17 years old – and they’re exploring career options and colleges.  Forcing them to make a decision on which colleges to apply Early Decision as early as September of their senior year is ridiculous.  It would be better if the seniors could choose to make these decisions in April or May of their senior year when they’re much more mature and ready to make these huge decisions but it’s not convenient to the colleges. 

When you choose to apply Early Decision, colleges have little incentive to offer generous scholarship packages because you’ve already paid your deposit and you’re committed for 4 years.  The Early Decision option benefits the colleges as it improves their rankings and gets them off the hook for scholarship dollars.