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What’s The Difference Between Early Decision & Early Action?

college consultant Southington CT

As I work with students and their families on college lists, one question that always comes up is, “what’s the difference between Early Decision and Early Action?”

Typically it’s followed by some sort of statement that sounds like, “I hate to ask a dumb question like this but I really don’t know.”

It’s not a dumb question at all.

In fact, like many other questions that come up during the college search and application process, the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.

So, let’s talk about the difference.

Early Decision, also known as ED, is binding while Early Action is not. This means that if you apply ED to a college and are admitted, you are now going to be enrolling at that college. You’ve just gotten married, in a sense.
In fact, when you apply ED to a college, and you can only apply to one school as an ED applicant, the student, parents and school counselor all sign an electronic agreement on the application stating that, if admitted, the student agrees to immediately withdraw all other pending applications. You don’t get to see who else wants to admit you and you definitely don’t get to wait around for financial aid awards so that you can compare offers.

So, the ED school says, “yes”, and the student is locked in. Their college application process is over. And, most likely, this is all happening in November or December of their senior year.

Early Action, on the other hand, is non-binding. Students can apply to as many Early Action schools as they like and, if admitted, are under no pressure to commit early. They can wait on their remaining decisions and review their financial aid awards before committing by May 1st. Like ED, students admitted through Early Action are still hearing back earlier in the process than students who apply through Regular Decision (typically January or early February) but the key difference is that their options have not been taken away.

Which brings me to the most important factor in deciding to apply ED or EA.

If a student knows, without a doubt, that the college fits them in every possible way, that it’s THE place they want to attend and that the cost is something the family can afford without regard to financial assistance, then applying ED can work out great. Some of the most selective colleges in the country are more generous with their decisions during the ED round of applications and, therefore, a student’s chances may improve. Note that I did not say, “will” improve. Students who are not strong applicants to begin with will not improve their chances just by applying ED.

But, if you are worried about cost, and you do want to have options, Early Action is very clearly the better way to go.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free 60-minute consultation. Not sure if a college consultant is for you? Here’s what other families like yours are saying about how Dobler College Consulting made a difference for them.

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Eric Jun 12, 2014 , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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Do You Know What Net Price Is?

Do You Know What Net Price IsYesterday I was talking with the parent of one of my students and the conversation was concerning college costs. I had asked him where he and the student’s mother would like to be when it came time to paying for college. Essentially I needed to know how much they were capable of paying so that we could look at the student’s college list in a more informed way.

One thing I firmly believe is that you have to know what you can afford up front.

There’s no sense in investing your time and effort, not to mention your heart, in a college search which is absent of the implications of cost.

Having recently mentioned Marist as an option the student should consider, the dad said that their costs for tuition, room and board (roughly $44,000) was getting towards the higher end of their threshold.

So while this family’s ability to pay will create more options for them than a family who’s ability to pay is much less, the conversation reminded me that so many families haven’t been informed about net price.

So what is net price? It’s the cost a family will pay for one year of college after grant and scholarship aid has been awarded. This cost varies from person to person and you can learn more about why this is by reading a post I wrote about net price last year:

How Much Is That College In The Window?

Essentially, the more competitive a student is when their grades and test scores are compared against the average grades and test scores for students who the college typically admits, the more likely it is that the student will receive a significant amount of aid which will then lower their net price.

With this idea in mind, a competitive student who applies to Marist and is awarded their Presidential Scholarship of $12,000 lowers their net price to roughly $32,000 thus making an expensive school more affordable.

One way you can start looking at a rough estimate of your net cost at a school is to use their net price calculator. Colleges are required to include one on their website, though some are easier to find than others. These calculators will ask you to enter some personal information and will then compute an estimated net price.

Not all calculators are created equal so be sure to pay close attention to the details of what the college estimates you will receive when you get your net price results.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you want to hear more about any of the schools on my travels, I’d be happy to talk to you about any of them as well.

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Eric May 05, 2014 , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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Narrowing Down Your College List

Ohio UniversityA couple weeks ago I was touring several colleges in Ohio with a group of high school counselors and college consultants like myself. We traveled from Cleveland to Columbus visiting John Carroll, Kent State, Ohio State, Otterbein, Ohio University, Marietta and Baldwin Wallace. I also took a quick side trip to Case Western Reserve before flying home.

Ohio has some amazing schools and while most students here in New England focus on the East Coast, there are some incredible values just several hours away in the Buckeye State. Seeing them up close and personal allows me to advise and challenge my students with a more informed and personal opinion.

While I was on the trip, I was talking with some of the other counselors about college lists and how students conduct their research (or don’t) to narrow down their list to the schools which fit them well. In my opinion, a college should fit you three ways: academically, socially and financially.  While there is no one perfect fit, striving to find this balance in your colleges helps ensure a student’s experience will be one that helps them develop as both a student and person without having to graduate with excessive student loan debt. There’s a lot of reasons why only half of students graduate in four years if they graduate at all. There’s just as many reasons why the average student graduates with nearly $30,000 in student loan debt.

One of the common denominators for both is lack of research.

Each counselor I talked to agreed that the process is tedious, but so necessary and that students need to do a better job with it. And when you consider the amount of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears that will go into applications, essays, supplements, interviews, auditions, portfolios, showcases, SAT, ACT and AP tests not to mention just doing well in your classes, why wouldn’t you make sure that the schools you apply to are good fits for you?

Why wouldn’t you make sure that each school is one that gets you excited? Where your major is strong and where the support you may need along the way is available? Where faculty help students gain experience in their field so that when they graduate, they have value to offer a business, organization or facility who’s looking to hire? Where the cost is something you and your parents can handle without having to lose sleep at night?

If you’re not doing these things, then you’re doing something wrong. The Common App will launch on August 1st and, with it, the frenzy of the college application season will be underway.

Wouldn’t you like to hit senior year and your college applications feeling confident about your options?

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you want to hear more about any of the schools on my travels, I’d be happy to talk to you about them as well.

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Eric Apr 28, 2014 , , , , , , , No Comments