FAQ’s & College Application
Terminology
Regardless of where you are in the college admissions process, there are some basic aspects of
the application process you should know about. Here are some common questions and
definitions that may help you better understand what you’re doing.
FAQ’s
College Application Terminology
Early Decision
An early decision applicant applies to his/her dream college in the fall. However, there are crucial differences to note between early action and early decision! For instance, you can only apply to one school using the early decision option, and you should only apply to this one school if you really want to go there, because if you’re accepted then you’re committed to attending. If you’re a competitive candidate, you stand a better chance to be admitted under Early Decision.
Early Action
Students applying to a school using the early action option will usually submit their completed applications by mid-October or mid-November and hear back from colleges by January. However, being accepted via early action does not commit the applicant to that particular college or university, and students usually don’t need to inform the college of whether to expect them at orientation or not until May 1st. The acceptance percentage is higher than that of the regular decision pool.
Rolling Admission
An admissions policy whereby colleges/universities will accept applications at any time, up until a final deadline OR until all of their available spots are full – the window for applying is usually more than six months long.