Applying Early Decision to a student’s top college choice is a hard decision to make for most families. The majority of Americans are worrying whether or not they can foot the college bill, let alone pay full price should they be accepted Early Decision. Yes, financial aid is available to both Early Decision applicants and their Regular Decision counterparts. However, are the student’s chances as good for admission or a great financial aid package?
The Wealthy
Applying Early Decision may be okay for a family whose child knows without a doubt they want to attend that school, and the family will pay whatever it takes for them to go there. Early Decision is a binding agreement, meaning that should that school accept him/her, they will expect the student to attend. (Not to be confused with Early Action, a non-binding early admissions program!)
The odds of getting into a school applying Early Decision can be slightly better than applying Regular Decision. Why? The college knows that this is the number one choice for the student and will attend should they be accepted. Colleges are better able to control their enrollment numbers in this way. Even so, the boost in admission chances for Early Decision applicants is minimal at many schools.
On the flip side, by applying Early Decision, the families lose the majority of their bargaining chips in the financial aid process. Why? A student is allowed to apply to only one school under a binding Early Decision agreement. That means one financial aid offer, and no other offers to compare. The main reason we recommend students apply to 8-10 schools is for that exact reason, using the financial aid offers to gain leverage and ask for better packages from other schools. But for some wealthy families who don't find it important to maximize their financial aid offers, the bargaining tools of other financial aid packages may be less of a priority to them.
Battle for the Best Students
Colleges such as Harvard and Princeton have, in the past, tried to pull their Early Decision programs in order to give a more equal opportunity to students who cannot afford to apply Early Decision. Once they did this, these schools noticed they were losing out on some of the best students across the country to other top-tier schools with Early Decision admission programs. Top-tier schools have recently been offering great financial aid packages to students of low-income families in an attempt to "level the playing field" for less-privileged children. Some of these top students, regardless of family income, want to apply early and be accepted early, missing out on potentially better offers from other Regular Decision schools.
Early Decision vs. Early Action
Early Action, the non-binding early program, is a great option for students who want to hear back from a school early but still want the opportunity to compare financial aid offers from other schools in the spring. Students admitted under Early Action will still have until May 1st to make their final school selection. In other words, Early Action offers the benefits of Early Decision, without the drawbacks. Some schools offer only one or the other, so make sure you know the difference.
Our Thoughts
The Early Decision admissions option is rarely a good idea for most families. The many factors that come into play include family income, finances, borderline grades and test scores, athletics and legacies. It certainly isn’t for most students because the financial aid package could leave a lot to be desired. The family will not be able to use other financial aid offers to negotiate with the student’s number one choice.
This is why we do not recommend Early Decision for the majority of our families. We want to help families maximize the amount of aid they get from schools and leave the family in a position to take control of their finances through the college years.
Chris, College Planning Specialist
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