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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Correcting an Early Admission Misconception

One of the core objectives of Ivy Coach’s college admissions blog has long been to debunk misconceptions about the highly selective college admissions process — misconceptions perpetuated by the press, admissions officers, high school counselors, private college counselors, and, heck, even moms and dads in line at the local grocery … 

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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 I and Early Decision II Are Not Created Equal

Early Decision I and Early Decision II are basically the same thing, right? Wrong. First, let’s start with the most obvious difference. For those schools that offer both Early Decision I and Early Decision II policies (and there aren’t tons of these universities among the highly selective institutions), the Early … 

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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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The Mistake of Not Applying Early

If you’re a high school senior who isn’t applying this Early Decision / Early Action round, you have made the biggest mistake in the college admissions process. That’s right. We said it. You see, you’ll hear others tell you that it doesn’t matter when you apply, to take your time, … 

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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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The Competitive Edge of Early Decision

There’s an editorial in “The New York Times” by Frank Bruni entitled “The Plague of ‘Early Decision’” that we figured we’d discuss on the pages of our college admissions blog. We are never shy about correcting Mr. Bruni when he states inaccuracies or misleads his readers about the highly selective college … 

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The Advantage of Early Applications

We know, we know. Yet another post on the advantage of Early applications. Whatever. Deal with it. We regularly make a point of expressing the importance of a student using his or her Early Decision or Early Action card and using it wisely. As our compiled Ivy League Statistics for … 

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Commitment of Early Decision

Afraid to make an Early Decision commitment? Lots of students choose not to apply Early Decision to schools that have Early Decision policies. And why? In our experience, it’s typically because they’re not ready or willing to make a binding commitment to a university. Maybe they need more time. Maybe they’re … 

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