How To Quadruple Your Chances Of Getting Into Columbia (Without Extra Studying): The Two Edges Of The ED/EA/REA/RD Sword
“At High Point University we offer three application plans for incoming freshmen. It is important to choose the plan that suits your interest level. Please keep in mind that over 80 percent of our incoming class is comprised of Early Decision and Early Action candidates.”
So I can’t decide whether this statement on High Point University’s website makes me glad or mad. Mad, on the one hand, because it demonstrates how the ED/EA system has made it MUCH harder for some students to be competitive in admissions, but glad that at least the school has put it right out in the open, whereas with other universities you have to dig to find this information.
Wait, what?
First, some definitions. There are several different application plans out in the admissions world.
RD (Regular Decision)
The one most people know about is Regular Decision (RD), which is when students apply around January first of their senior year. It doesn’t have particular restrictions (i.e., you can apply to as many schools as you like- twenty on the Common App plus more on other applications). Decisions come in as early as late January and as late as early April.
EA (Early Action)
Then there’s Early Action (EA). Under EA, you apply to your college earlier than under RD (typically EA deadlines are in November), and you get your decision earlier. EA doesn’t give you a better chance of getting in (at least not appreciably), but you find out your fate sooner and colleges get a good handle on what their freshman class numbers might look like. One potential downside of this plan is that many students get deferred into the RD pool, meaning they get their decisions along with the RD kids. Decisions (including deferrals) come in around mid-December.
ED (Early Decision)
The next one, and the most controversial, is Early Decision (ED). You apply early, just as in EA. Under an ED plan, you can apply to only ONE school ED (you can apply to others EA or RD), and if you are accepted, you agree to withdraw all your other applications and attend your ED school. This is legally binding, and unless you can prove some financial exigency, you must attend regardless of what financial aid the school does (or doesn’t) offer. ED does usually give a student a substantial increase in their chances of being accepted (see below). You can see the problem: students from families with less money don’t feel comfortable applying ED to expensive schools, because they don’t have the right to turn an offer down if enough financial aid isn’t offered. The wealthier families get the advantage.
REA (Restrictive Early Action) & SCEA (Single Choice Early Action)
Finally, there’s Restrictive Early Action (REA and also SCEA- Single Choice Early Action), available at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Georgetown. REA is sort of stuck between ED and EA. These vary slightly between the schools, but essentially you aren’t allowed to apply ED anywhere else, or even EA at other private schools, but you can apply EA to public universities. If you are accepted REA, you have the option of refusing admission (but these are six schools that are pretty confident you’ll take them up on their offer).
Why do they do this, and why is it controversial?
Dartmouth College, the small Ivy League gem, boasts a super-exclusive 4.2% RD acceptance rate.
Dartmouth College’s ED acceptance rate?
25.1%
Six times as high as their RD acceptance rate.
That’s bonkers! Why does this happen?
There are both large and small reasons for this. One small one is that most recruited athletes (who have already more or less been told they are accepted) apply under ED. Another is that students who sign off on the possibility that they MUST attend the college clearly hold it as a first choice and therefore are more likely to fit the college profile (“you’re choosing us because we seem like a good fit, so maybe you are”).
The two larger reasons? Money and prestige.
Money
This one is fairly straightforward. Students admitted under ED are willing to pay full tuition if they have to. This is not to say that schools don’t award scholarships and aid to ED students: they do. Many of the more prestigious schools will meet 100% of a student’s financial need without loans. Twenty-four schools do this (including Harvard and Stanford), but of the 4,000+ colleges in the US, that’s a tiny selection. Few students pay full “sticker price” at their institution, but you’re likely to pay more as an ED admit. I have posted some links to articles covering this phenomenon at the end of the blog.
This is problematic because if only students with relatively wealthy families apply to schools ED while students with fewer resources don’t, then the wealthier students will be accepted at higher rates, and elite education will continue to primarily be the province of the wealthy.
Prestige
When you see a school brag about their low acceptance rate, the RD applications are the ones to which they are always referring. This boosts the college’s status as a highly-selective school (Admissions Consultants call them “highly-rejective schools”) and helps it rise in rankings (such as the awful, terrible US News and World Report listings). So while Columbia University can boast a 2.9% acceptance rate, which sounds terribly elite, if you’re willing to apply ED, your chances of acceptance go up to 11.9%. But you have to make the trade-offs associated with ED to get this advantage.
Is there a better way?
I think so, and so does the University of California system. UC has no ED or EA. They get more applications than any other system in the world. How do they read all the applications in time? Their applications are due November 30. Nobody applies early, nobody has to make a financial gamble, and no one demographic has an unfair advantage over any other.
Okay, but what does this mean *I* should do with *my* applications?
Choose wisely. Do you REALLY want to go to NYU? Then you should know that 66% of their freshman class is made up of ED applicants. Most Ivies get about half of their freshmen from ED. On the other hand, if you have several schools at the top of your list and they aren’t super hard to get into, you might be better off applying EA to a number of schools and then comparing financial offers between the schools that accept you. But know that you’re watering down your chances at the most selective (rejective) schools.
As a college admissions consultant, I follow these situations daily and can help you strategize what the best ways might be to position yourself in the whole admissions landscape.
Call or email me (David Parker) today to schedule a free consultation to see where you are in your process!
Some Articles On This Topic Worth Reading: