Early Decision Under Fire

A new report, published by a group known as “Education Reform Now,” has sharply criticized Early Decision policies. What? A group is against the notion that students should not have to make binding commitments to universities in exchange for increased odds of admission? This is a radical rebuke of a … 

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Defending Early Decision Policies

There he goes again. In a tirade in The New York Times entitled “Merit Aid (or Lack Thereof) Makes Early Decision Ever Murkier,” Ron Lieber writes “Early decision isn’t binding, and Northeastern should say so on its website, using those same italics that are already there. (It is indeed as … 

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On Committing Early Decision

One of the core objectives of this college admissions blog has long been to debunk misconceptions about the highly selective college admissions process. And today we will do just that as we address an article in The New York Times by Ron Lieber entitled “Early Decision Isn’t Binding. Let Us … 

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Dissecting the Argument Against Applying Early Decision

So many high school seniors across America and around the world choose not to apply to a school through an Early Decision policy because they’re not ready to make a binding commitment to attend an institution. They need time. They want to weigh their options. An apple might fall from … 

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Early Decision Commitments

The National Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization which we belong to, recently announced some changes that will alter the way some universities choose to do business. The changes by NACAC come in response to a Department of Justice probe, one we’ve reported on extensively, in which the organization … 

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A Nonsensical Argument Against Early Decision

Do you not want your child to apply to a school under its binding Early Decision policy because you don’t feel your child should have to commit to one school and one school only? If so, we’d urge you to get over it and reconsider. And why? Because when you … 

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Binding Early Decision Commitment

There’s a piece up on “US News & World Report” by Alexandra Pannoni entitled “What Happens to Students Who Back Out of Early Decision Offers” that we figured we’d share with our readers. It should first be noted that we have never, in over a quarter of a century of … 

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Using Early Decision Card Wisely

Many folks often say to us, “Why not see if my son can get into Columbia in the Early Decision round? What’s the harm? We don’t want to wonder for the rest of our lives if he could have gotten in.” It’s indeed a refrain we hear annually at this time, … 

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Crazy Students Don’t Apply Early Decision

We firmly believe that only crazy students don’t apply Early Decision or Early Action. The odds of getting in through the Early Decision or Early Action round (depending on the college’s policy) are so much stronger than are the odds of getting in during the Regular Decision round. Just look … 

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Certainty and Applying Early Decision

There’s a piece in “Forbes” by Troy Onink entitled “College Admissions: Answers From Prep School Pros” that we figured we’d discuss on the pages of our college admissions blog. A college counselor at a preparatory school is asked about when students should or should not apply Early Decision or Early Action. … 

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