[ypark]

1. whats the difference between an early action and an early decision?

2. if you do either of those does it increase your chance of getting into the college/university you want to attend? ....rather than regular apps?

3. my friend also told me if you did early decision for a specific school and you get accepted, you HAVE to go to that school.. you dont get a choice. is that true?


im only a sophomore in highschool but its good to know these things beforehand, right?

[ronmexico]

Early Decision is binding, which means that if you get in, you're obligated to enroll. Early Action is not binding, but you find out earlier than you would have. Your chances might be slightly better, but not as good as for ED.

[MONICA]

1. EA is nonbinding, ED is binding.
2. depends on the college, but usually yes. this is because you're telling the college that this is your first choice and you know you want to go here, basically no matter what.
3. your friend is right.

[gemini]

3. you HAVE to go to that school unless they don't give you a good enough financial package (or something like that, i forgot, haha)

[angelzstar]

3. you HAVE to go to that school unless they don't give you a good enough financial package (or something like that, i forgot, haha)

i heard you don't get any financial aid if you apply ED?

[iceberri]

i heard you don't get any financial aid if you apply ED?

It's not that you don't get any financial aid; it's just that they're more willing to give you MORE money if you're accepted RD to entice you to come. If you've been accepted ED, you're coming irregardless of financial circumstances, but unless the college is really cruel, they'll give you something, especially if you need it.

[c u r i o us]

sorry for the stupid question, but

for either ED or EA, you have to apply early then? o_O

if yes, then how early?

[ronmexico]

^Yes, you have to apply early. Schools have different deadlines, but I think it's typically sometime in October or early November.

[c u r i o us]

^ohh
haha ok, one more question.
then on the app. do i have to write specifically that i did it for ED or EA?

[iceberri]

The school you apply to will have only an ED or EA option. So before you apply, make sure you know their policy. They usually have a checkbox in the corner of the application where you either check off Early Action or Regular Decision. (If it's an ED school, there would be a checkbox for Early Decision.)

Three schools -- Stanford, Harvard, and Yale -- have Single Choice Early Action (SCEA), meaning it's not binding, but you can only apply to that one school early. For other Early Action schools though, you can apply to as many of them as you want in October/November.

[MONICA]

i heard you don't get any financial aid if you apply ED?

whoever told you that is wrong. most schools have it so that if you apply ED and then get deferred to RD, your financial package will stay the same. JHU gave me more than half of the estimated costs for the year and i was an ED applicant.