Five Reasons Students Should Apply Early Decision to College

CONCORD, Mass., Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Top Tier Admissions, the nation's leading Ivy League college admissions specialists, announces the top five reasons students should apply Early Decision to maximize their odds of admission to their top choice college.

Students entering their senior year of high school are overwhelmed with the anxiety of college admissions and a recurring question is, should they apply Early Decision. This anxiety is compounded by the fact that many universities do a poor job of explaining the benefits of early-decision programs, and that Early Decision is often portrayed as being bad for students without much statistical research to prove or disprove this theory.

With the November deadline for Early Decision looming, below are five reasons students should consider applying:

1. The Odds of Acceptance Increases Greatly
   Applying Early Decision to a student's top choice college significantly increases the odds of acceptance.  Since Early Decision is a binding commitment, meaning colleges can count on a 100 percent yield, acceptance rates in Early Decision are between three to six times higher than those in regular round. Columbia University accepted 17.61 percent of applicants in the Early Decision round and 4.80 percent in the regular round.  U Penn had a 23 percent acceptance rate in ED and seven percent in regular.
2. Dedicated Attention from Professional Admissions Officers
   Early Decision applications will receive more attention from admissions due to the smaller number of student files versus the 25,000 to 30,000 applications during a regular round.  In fact, real admissions professionals at top schools will be reading the applications in ED. During the regular round, temporary 'readers' are brought in to screen applications at some top schools. Columbia's last Early Decision round had 3,520 students apply to be part of the Class of 2020, while in the regular round, 32,772 applications flooded into the admissions office. Applying Early Decision allows students to receive more attention from the decision makers and stand out from the overwhelming crowd.
3. Reduced Anxiety
   When applying Early Decision, students will receive an answer and possibly be finished with the entire college application process in December.  Students who wait and apply during the regular admissions round will not hear back until late March, early April or, worst case scenario, June if they are waitlisted.  Early Decision allows students to avoid extra months of worry and concern.
4. Secure Placement Before They Are Filled
   To secure a higher yield and have greater control over the make-up of a freshman class, colleges now fill up 35 to 50 percent of the class in the early round.  Meaning, if a student waits until the regular round in January to apply, up to half of the spots will already be filled. With ten times the number of applicants applying for fewer available placements, the odds of acceptance for a qualified applicant are significantly lower. Columbia filled about 45 percent of its freshman class last year through the binding Early Decision application process and U Penn filled almost 50 percent.
5. More Readily Available Financial Aid
   Many colleges do not want students to withdraw for financial reasons. Because of that, they will do all they can to make the price affordable. This is additional leverage in applying Early Decision.  Instead of the competition from another college's offer, colleges looking for 100 percent yield will avoid the possibility of a student withdrawing if aid is not sufficient.

About Top Tier Admissions

Top Tier Admissions makes the college admissions process more transparent and guides students and families with targeted, actionable plans, to lessen stress and impart lifelong skills. Year after year the Top Tier Admissions team changes students' lives with record-breaking acceptances even as admissions odds continue to fall at top colleges.  Learn more at http://www.toptieradmissions.com.

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SOURCE Top Tier Admissions

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