Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision? What They Mean and How To Choose
August 22, 2023
College Application Deadlines
Your head may be spinning with terms like “early decision,” “early action,” “restrictive early action,” and even “early decision II.” You’ll likely apply to some schools by their early deadlines and to others by their regular deadlines — but even within those classifications, the dates of those deadlines vary. Additionally, some schools offer on-campus interviews only after receiving your application, while others require you to sit for a local alumni interview before submitting your application. Still others will even require you to submit “Part One” of their application months before the posted deadline. How do you decide which deadlines are right for which schools? How do you know if you should apply Early Decision, Early Action, or mix and match to get the best of both worlds?