When it comes to applying to colleges, there are so many decisions a student has to make from where to apply – or when to apply. One of the biggest decisions is whether to apply for early action, early decision, or single-choice early action.

In an early decision plan, a student applies to one college in November of his or her senior year. It is a binding agreement that he or she will attend the college upon  acceptance; however, students are allowed to apply for regular admission to another college. If one is accepted for early decision, most colleges will insist that other applications be withdrawn.

Early action plans are a less binding alternative. In this program, students may apply for early action to as many colleges as he or she chooses. If accepted to numerous colleges, the student will have until late spring to make a final decision about which school to attend.

Single-choice early action is also non-binding. A  few colleges offer this particular course of action as a similar option to early action as desired.  A candidate can only apply early to one school, but is free to apply to as many colleges during regular admission times. When a student is accepted, they have until the regular acceptance deadline to enroll.

Overall, one of the biggest misconceptions about applying for early decision is that there is a fee for denying the early acceptance. Others, however, believe that it will increase a student’s chances of being accepted to the school of their preference. Originally, the program was designed as a way for schools to fill classrooms early with capable students. In the past, students that applied to a school early had a higher chance of being accepted. Lately, circumstances have changed. Schools are known to be significantly reducing the number of students they accept early, making it a much more difficult process.

The majority of AHS students who were asked if they would consider applying for early admission said they most likely would not. Jenna Balicki is an AHS junior that will be looking into colleges of her preference for the future.

“If I found a school that I loved and was sure, then I might, but otherwise no because if I changed my mind there is a penalty,” said Balicki.

“I have many schools I’m interested in, so I don’t want to put myself at risk in being penalized by sacrificing my early application to just one school,” said senior Letitia Romero.

In addition, senior Sophia Nasary is one who would not consider early admission in order to “finalize all the grades” and conclude her school-related commitments before taking that big step into her future.

On the other hand, senior Jenny Miller said, “I might apply early so that I can be organized and get all of my college application stuff out of the way.”

In general, there are many advantages and disadvantages to applying early. This course of action is appealing to students because if accepted, they do not have to stress about whether they will get accepted late in the year. Generally students will know by late fall to mid-winter whether they were accepted for early admission.

In addition to this, if a student is not accepted for early admission, he or she can reapply under regular admission.

Most importantly, if a student is accepted into the early decision program, a student is not eligible for any kind of financial aid.

For this reason, career center specialist Robin Roth said, “If the student is in love with the school and doesn’t need financial aid, then it is a good idea, but if the applicant is not as fond of the school or needs financial aid, than early decision wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Overall, what stresses students the most during their last year of high school is the process of deciding what schools to go to, and how to apply. “Every school with early decision has different statistics for the pool of early decision applicants.  Some are extremely competitive, while others are not.  Applicants need to do their homework for every school,” said Roth.