A Second Chance At Early Decision?

In November, many prospective college freshmen submitted applications to universities via the Early Decision option with hopes of receiving an acceptance before the December holiday break. Students who are accepted in December can celebrate their academic achievement and take a sigh of relief now that the anxiety-ridden college application process is over. 

For students who do not receive an ED acceptance letter, not all hope is lost. Numerous colleges offer Early Decision II with a January application deadline and notification in February – close to two months prior to the regular decision notification of late March/early April. Just like ED I,  ED II is binding: if a student is admitted, they must accept the spot.

A student may have numerous reasons for applying ED II. Here are just a few: 

1. More time to improve SAT/ACT scores

2. More time to solidify college preferences and assess financial needs

3. Shows the college that they’re committed to it, which makes the student a more attractive applicant

4. Have an opportunity to submit strong grades earned during senior year (whereas ED I applicants are usually evaluated on the basis of their academic performance through junior year only)

5. Colleges usually accept a higher percentage of ED applicants than Regular Decision applicants. For example, Dartmouth has a 26 percent ED acceptance rate, and Columbia and Duke have a 17 percent ED acceptance rate

So now that you have an idea of why students might opt into a school’s ED II track, what’s the advantage for colleges to offer ED? Because ED is binding, colleges know that students they accept will attend — increasing their “yield” (the percentage of admitted students who attend) — an important indicator of a college’s desirability and one that can have a significant influence on a college’s ranking. Effectively, ED II (like ED I) offers colleges a second chance to grab guaranteed enrollees. Even though ED II isn’t as powerful a booster for your chances as ED I, it’s a strategy we’d still consider with our students.    

If your top-choice school offers ED II, it’s definitely worth considering applying early. As always, you should check to see if your top-choice colleges offer an ED II option, as not all schools do. If you’re looking to venture down the path of ED II, Ivy Link can ensure a less stressful application submission process. 97% of our students were admitted to one of their top-3 colleges, and on average, our students raised their ACT scores by 12 points (out of 36) and SAT scores by 170 points (out of 1600). Contact us today to learn how Ivy Link can help your student with their college admissions process before it’s too late!