There are several common policies for undergraduate admissions in the United States, which include:ed ，ea，red ，scea ，rd
Top fourIt is an early application, which is quite different from the regular admission RD, and the advantages are often greater than the regular admission.
If you want to take advantage of the early policies, you need to understand the rules and pros and cons. In order to plan reasonably and strive for more offers.
1. RD - Rugular Decision
RD is neither exclusive nor binding。Students can apply to more than one school, and they are free to choose whether to enroll or not after admission. Most schools have RDs, which are one of the common ways to admitSo we're going to talk about it at the top hereApplications are usually submitted between January 1 and January 30, and results are issued between mid-to-late March and April 1.
The advantages of the RD application are:Sufficient time to prepare and refine your application materials, especially throughout the late senior year, performance will be fully demonstrated in the application. However, the application time is late, and the waiting time for the results is also longer.
2. ED - Early Decision
part.1
What is ED?
It is a "decision" based on both the applicant and the university. In layman's terms, ifYou are lucky enough to be admitted to the school, you have to give up the application to other schools and can only enter this university for admission。Because for every ED application, students have to sign it at the time of applicationed agreement(Decide the agreement in advance),Student, parent and counselorIt is necessary to sign ** or offline to confirm this commitment, and it shall not be breached. Therefore, ED is not a simple early admission, and there are many restrictions on the choice of schools to apply for and attend, so ED admission is often referred to as ".Early Admission with Restrictions"Generally speaking, schools in the top 50 or so have EDs.
part.2
Ed's sexuality
Applicants are in the same time period (some universities have ED1 and ED2 points).Only one school can be applied to, butYou can apply to other schools at the same time。StillOnce accepted by ED, ongoing applications must be withdrawn immediately and no new applications can be made.
* There is no distinction between EA, ED, and RD among UC campuses in California and Penn State University. These state universities do not use the Common App to receive applications, but have their own independent application systems and admissions cycles.
part.3
Timeline of ED
In terms of cut-off times, some universities have ED1 and ED2.
Normally, the deadline for ED1 is November 1, and the university responds in mid-December; The deadline for ED2 is January 1, with responses in mid-February. But either wayWhether you apply for ED1 or ED2, you must abide by uniqueness and binding.
part.4
The choice between ED1 and ED2
When the application conditions are not yet mature, there is no need to deliberately catch up with ED1. In the case of the same ED2, it may be considered to delay to ED2. AlthoughED2 has a lower probability of admission than ED1But as long as you use your time wisely and keep improving, you can still be a winner.
If the earlier ED1 has been rejected, it is theoretically possible to apply for the school's ED2 and RD, butIt is not recommended to apply to ED2 and RD from the same school。Because the school already has a certain understanding and judgment of the student's situation during the ED1 period, the possibility of re-admission is small.
3. EA - Early Action
part.1
What is EA?
EA i.eApply in advance。Compared to ED, EA'sLess limited and more flexible, which does not require applicants to accept an offer from the school, and allows applicants to apply to EA from multiple schools at the same time within the deadline. If admitted, there is no need to withdraw other pending applications. If you are rejected, you can continue to apply for ED2 and RD.
part.2
Which schools are eligible for EA?
Most of the schools that offer EA are concentrated in schools around 25-59, and the more popular universities include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgetown University, UNC University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, etc.
*The UC university system is also not eligible for EA
part.3
The timeline of the EA
Cut-offThe application deadline is generally November 1。There is no requirement for EA to admit students and does not require students to make a commitment to ensure enrollment. Admitted students will be confirmed by May each year.
The EA, RD schedule published on the official website of the California Institute of Technology.
part.4
Possible outcomes of ED and EA:
offer: If you are admitted, you must go to this school.
defer: Neither being admitted nor being rejected, to put it bluntly, there is still a chance or hope of being admitted. Your application will be deferred to Stage RD and will be reviewed before a result is given. After being deferred, you can update your grades and add some materials.
reject: Rejected applications and can no longer participate in the rest of the school's batches, e.g. RD, ED2.
FourthSCEA andrea
Single-choice early action, both Princeton University and Yale University are called SCEA.
Restrictive Early Action, which is known as REA for Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and Notre Dame.
The special thing is itIt has some limitations – i.e. certain restrictions on the EDs and EAs of other schools。Each school has different specific regulations.
For example, Princeton University's SCEA is non-binding, and if an applicant is admitted, he or she only needs to reply before May 1 of the following year whether he or she wants to be officially enrolled.
The deadline for SCEA is Nov. 1, and applicants who have applied to SCEA at Princeton University cannot apply to EA or ED at other private universities.
Princeton SEA applicants can apply to the following universities:
Non-binding early application to other public universities;
Non-binding early application to other non-U.S. universities;
Unbundled rolling applications from other universities.
Princeton University's Interpretation and Requirements for SCEA.
5. Summary - the difference between RD, EA, ED1, and ED2
Source: Google).
6. Advantages and disadvantages of early policies
ED is a good choice for students who are very sure of which school they are targeting. Because ED applicants apply in advance, they also know in advance whether the application result is successful or rejected, and if they are rejected, they can stop losses in time and focus more time and energy on other options.
The advantages of EA are about the same as ED, but what is even better is that EA is non-**, which can be used as a guarantee item to try to apply to better schools in the later RD.
In short,EA and ED can take advantage of the time and reduce the stress of applying and waiting for results
College Board's explanation of the ED, EA applicators.
Secondly,ED and EA have a higher acceptance rate than RD
The small proportion of the number of applicants for ED and EA is one of the objective reasons for the high acceptance rate。But this also reflects the fact that ED and EA are more demanding of applicants – spending less time to achieve a good application background.
So, it's not always the better to apply as early as possible. ED requires students to make a unique and definite choice of college before applying, which is a test of high school students' mental and planning skills.
To remember:The benefits of EA and ED are not directly derived from early submission, but from early planning, preparation, and increasing hard and soft skills
EA and ED also have certain risksIf grades drop in senior grades, the university may cancel the offer.
Therefore, both EA and ED need to have a certain academic strength and a relatively clear and comprehensive future plan.
7. Tips for early applicants
1. Be cautious when applying to ED schools.
2. Do not apply to the same school's ED2 and regular applications.
3. EA University makes a bold attempt.
4. The early application is not all the sprint purposes.
5. Reasonable guarantee in the early stage.
6. Do not apply blindly in the early stage, and apply reasonably and routinely.
7. Grasp the deadline
8. Pay attention to the final review of application materials.