College Roadmap: Early Admissions Results

If you submitted some type of early admission application within the last two months, you should be expecting to hear back the results late December and early January. With many types of early admissions options available, we will first go over the different types of early admissions, as well as what binding and non-binding means. Depending on which type of early admission you chose, your college admissions process may be completed once you get accepted.

Types of Early Admissions

1. Early Decision (ED) is a binding early admission. If you are accepted and your financial needs are met, you must attend your accepted school, meaning you must withdraw all other applications. As such, you can only apply to one college with an early decision.

2. Early Action (EA) is a non-binding early admission. In most cases, you are free to submit other applications and it is not mandatory for you to attend the school that accepts your application.

3. Restrictive Early Action (REA) is also a non-binding early admission. Though you will have until sometime in May to make up your mind, you are not allowed to apply for early admissions to other schools.

What if I am accepted as an ED, but my financial needs are not met?

In this case, you can request to be released from the ED agreement without penalty. Your request should explain that the financial aid package offered is not enough for your attendance to be possible. However, this does not mean you must reject the acceptance because you can also negotiate for more aid. Our best advice would be to contact your school’s admissions office and discuss this matter with them.

Results to Early Admissions

Accepted

If you applied for ED, it is now time to look at the financial aid package and do the calculations on whether you can attend the college or not. As explained above, there are some steps you can take if your financial needs are not met. After confirming your financial aid package and deciding to enroll, you must now withdraw your other applications.

Unfortunately, this does not mean you can now let go of all your academic duties. While it is quite difficult to happen, colleges can take back their offer when your grades take too much of a dive in your senior year, even after acceptance. So, for better judgment, you should keep up the good work and continue striving to succeed academically. This is especially because you will be a college student in less than a year and you want to stay in healthy academic shape to be able to continue succeeding in college.

Deferred

If your application was deferred, it means your application will be assessed one more time during the regular decision admissions process. It means the school has not decided whether to accept or deny your application and you still have a chance at getting accepted. If the deferral did not bring your spirit down, these are the steps you want to take to strengthen your application:

1. Find out if any additional information is wanted, such as midyear report card, updates on extracurricular activities, etc. Contact the school to find out, but if they clearly tell deferred students not to submit any further information, do not submit anything else.

2. Write a letter of continued interest addressed to the admissions officer at the school’s admissions office. Express your thanks for being deferred and show that you are still committed. You should also take time to explain reasons why the school is the best fit for you in detail, discussing their courses, professors, etc. to show you have done your research. You also want to talk about any new achievements you have made since submitting the application. Lastly, make sure to sound positive and excited throughout the letter.

3. If it is possible, visit the school and meet the admissions officer in person. You may even want to ask if you can sit in on a class or have lunch on campus to see what the students’ life is like.

4. Continue your regular decision applications. Though it would be great if you are accepted in the end, you always want to have backup plans. Even if you are sure you will be accepted or the admissions are showing great interest, there is a chance you might not get accepted. Always account for this possibility and keep those other options available to you, so that you do not find yourself without breathing room.

Denied

Unfortunately, getting denied in ED rounds means you cannot apply to the same school again this year, even for RD. The good news is you can take it off your to-do list and move on to other schools. There are many great schools, and you are sure to find another one that is just as a good fit for you. Do not limit the success of your academic endeavors to getting into a specific school. Though it would have been great to get into your dream college, getting accepted to a school is just the beginning of your higher education journey. Keep researching for more schools, enhance your college application, and never stay down!