As of November 15, some of the senior class will have signed their futures away to colleges across the country.
Many undergraduate schools offer an Early Decision option to the applicants, and some students who are sure of their college choice decide to go this route in their application process.
The students that decide to go the Early Decision route must be 100% sure that they want to attend the school that they are applying to, because it is binding. In other words, if you get in you must attend.
In contrast to ED, Early Action is another option that is sometimes offered. When a person applies Early Action to a school, they submit their application earlier and find out earlier, but are not required to attend the school if they get in.
By applying early, students may have a greater chance of getting into their desired school because the pool of applicants is smaller than that of Regular Decision.
“Applying Early Decision to Virginia Tech doesn’t actually give you that much of an advantage over students applying to Regular Decision like some other schools do,” said senior Bradley Peterson.
Peterson is well-qualified, but sometimes counselors recommend that a student apply Early Decision to show their enthusiasm for the school. By showing that they would really like to attend, the admissions staff may be more lenient on a few low grades.
Senior Adrian Chadwell applied early to Christopher Newport University for all of the above reasons.
“CNU is my top choice and I know that by applying early I will have a greater change of getting in” said Chadwell.
Chadwell will be notified of the university’s decision by December 15.
Most schools that offer Early Decision require that the applications are submitted by either November 1 or 15, and they let the applicants know whether or not they are accepted by December 15. Some Virginia schools that offer Early Decision include Christopher Newport University, The College of William and Mary, University of Richmond, and Virginia Tech.
Another small, but nice perk of applying early, is that you can enjoy senior year unlike those slaving over the Regular Decision applications.
“The main advantage of applying early to Virginia Tech is that you find out earlier than everyone else” said senior Alyssa Debra.