No matter which college you plan to attend after high school, everyone has to make decisions. : One of those decisions is choosing between early decision and regular decision. Early decision for 2024 ended Dec. 15 and regular decision ends in between mid March to early April.
Social studies teacher Jillian Merkle said if you’re confident, and you know where you want to go to college, you should apply early because there is no reason not to.
“I think that if you know exactly what school you want to go to and you’re 100% sure, it makes a lot of sense to apply early,” Merkle said. “Especially if it is a school that is really hard to get in.”
Senior Nate Benishek said applying early is a smart move because fewer people do it. He said it shows the college that you are already prepared excited to go to their school.
“I think early college applications have the advantage of potential acceptance,” Benishek said. “Especially because I get a head start on everyone else applying to the same college.”
Senior Ben Bauer said he plans on making his decision at the regular time because he wants to wait. He said he wants to make the right decision before deciding where he wants to go.
“I plan on making my decision at a normal time,” Bauer said. “If I try and jump the gun on my decision, I might regret that choice later when I realize that the college I chose is not the right fit for me.”
Merkle said applying for college has changed over the years. According to Merkle, nobody ever applied early, so this new wave of applying for college early is recent but definitely here to stay.
“I know that when I was applying for college very few people did any early action,” Merkle said. “I know now, a lot of students are making their decisions pretty early.”
According to Benishek, it is smart to wait to decide because it gives you more time to make your decision and you can show your top choices college more accomplishments when you give yourself more time.
“Waiting until the regular time allows me to include additional achievements and make a more informed decision,” Benishek said. “Factors like academic readiness, extracurricular accomplishments and personal circumstances contribute to when I decide to apply for college.”
According to Bauer, even though he applied later because it gives the college plenty of time to decide if they are going to accept you or not.
“I suggest applying as early as possible because it increases your chance of getting into the schools you applied for,” said Bauer. “Even if you are on the fence about where to go, you might as well apply for it.”
