Applying to college can be stressful, especially when you are also trying to manage your AP® homework, extracurricular activities, and after school job at the same time. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly popular for students to begin preparing their college applications during the summer before their senior year. This way, they have more time to focus on their studies and finish strong during the school year.

When you have your applications completed early in the fall semester, you might as well submit them early as well, right? Not so fast! There are a couple of types of early admission programsto choose from, and each kind has a different set of rules attached. But don’t worry; we are here to tell you all about them.

This article will tell you everything you need to know about early action admission. If you are interested in learning about early decision, you should click here instead.

What is Early Action?

Early action admissions programs allow students to submit their applications for review well before the regular decision deadline. If you are interested in applying to a school via early action, you will need to ensure that your application is ready to go by the end of October. Although deadlines vary from school to school, the earliest you will need to submit your application is November 1^st, while the second wave of deadlines has usually passed by November 15^th.

After you submit your application, you will hear back from your school of choice within 6-8 weeks. Schools have been known to release early action admissions decisions as early as New Year’s Day, while others have waited until the middle of February to notify their students. Either way, you will still have less time to wait, as the notification date for most regular admissions applicants is not until April 1^st.

When you receive your acceptance, you do not have to respond right away. This is because early action is not a binding agreement. We will touch on this more later, but it basically means that you have until May 1^st (known as National College Decision Day) to accept or reject your offer of admission.

If your early action application is rejected, it can be disappointing, but you do not need to worry. This is because you should have applied to multiple schools early action, and even a few during the regular admissions cycle. You will need to do this to avoid “putting all your eggs in one basket,” as they say. Regular admission deadlines begin at the end of December and continue through early February. It is very likely that you will not hear back from your early action school before other applications are due. To avoid being left without options, make sure you apply to multiple schools.

The final option that you can receive when you apply early action is deference. This means that your application has not been evaluated and has instead been pushed through to be reviewed in the general admissions pool. If this happens to you, it is time to demonstrate your level of interest in the school. If you have not scheduled an interview, you should do so. It might also be worth it to call the admissions office and ask if you should send any supplementary materials to strengthen your candidacy.

Is Early Action Binding?

This most important thing to remember about applying early action is that it is not a binding agreement. You can use it to apply to a school or two, apply to a few more via regular decision, and turn down the early action offers if you get a better deal later on.

The ability to say no is what makes early action an extremely popular option, especially for students who need to be able to compare financial aid packages before committing to a particular school.

There is a still one caveat: sometimes schools only offer what are known as Single Choice Early Action programs, known as SCEA for short. This means that if you apply to their early action program, you are not allowed to apply for any others. The only schools that currently hold this policy are Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

Why Apply Early?

The benefits of early action are plentiful. Like we mentioned, applying early can relieve a lot of stress. This is because you won’t have to worry about applying to college while you are also trying to focus on successfully completing your senior year, but this is only if you plan well. It is nearly impossible to cobble together a convincing college application in a week or two – so you can’t procrastinate on your early action application!

Applying early action also gives your more time to get ready for college! If you are admitted through an early action program and decide to accept your place, you can at least 2 more months than your regular decision classmates to design your dorm room, consider your major, apply for school-specific scholarships, and more.

You might have also heard that there is a higher acceptance rate among early action applicants. While this is typically true, it has less to do with the competitiveness of the application pool and more to do with the types of students that are applying. The reason that early action acceptance rates are higher is because the people who apply early action have done their research and know that a particular school is a good match for them.

Complete list of early action schools

All of us here at Albert.io are interested in making your life as easy as possible. That’s why we scoured the Internet to find out which schools accept early action applications, so you don’t have to. You will find them all listed by state below. Is your favorite school on the list?

A Quick Review

Here are a few quick things to keep in mind if you are considering applying early action: 

• Early action applications are typically due in early November.

• Early action applications are not binding.

• You should still apply to a few schools via regular decision.

• You don’t have to send in your reply until May 1^st. 

There you go! Now you are an early action expert.

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