Early action or regular decision. What’s even the difference? The answer is time, and this is why early action application to a college is the best choice.

Though the approaching (or likely passed) deadline seemed to have crept up as soon as school started, students will find the rush to finish the application was worth it. Applying early action to a college gives the college the opportunity to give a student’s application a thorough read through. The statistical acceptance criteria is often higher for early action, which may or may not be in a students’ favor. No matter, always apply early.

Even if the college is not 100% sure of the applicant, it’s unlikely they will reject him or her. The more likely occurrence is deferral, which means that they will review the application again when the regular decision deadline comes around. They may have felt that they needed to see further evidence of the student’s work, so they’ll defer for the purpose of seeing first semester grades. Early action is like a cushion for your application. It often gives your application two chances at acceptance.

To only apply regular decision, the application will receive one read through that will determine its fate: acceptance or rejection.

Though early action has its downfalls as well. As more and more students apply early, less are accepted. Early action leads to early notification of acceptance, which can lead to a student’s lack of motivation for the remainder of the year,

Although applying early action can be inconvenient and have some downfalls, students should take advantage of the option should it be available.