Restrictive Early Action

The universities that  offer

One of the more confusing application options is Restrictive  Early Action ( REA). Forunately only a few  universities imp[lement this.

 Like Early Action ,     the application deadline is typically Nov 01.  the university  will respond by mid December  and you have until  May to decide.  The restriction is that one cannot apply to any other university earky decision or early action  

 The advantage of sapplying early  is that you can lock down a top university admission  by   mid december. I fone of the ZREA options  is a dream school this is worth considering.

 The disadvantages are that one does not grt the flexibility of applying early decision to one school  and early action to others.

The  six universities that have popular REA  applications are.

• Harvard University
• Yale University
•  Stanford  University
• Princeton University
•  Boston College
•  Notre Dame University
• 
  

Early Application Options

 The  Early round of the admissions season  is only a  month away. 

If you  thought  there were not enough acronyms in the admissions game you now have to familiarise yourself with the  EA/ED/RD/REA deadlines.

 The main college application  deadline is usually referred to as Regular Decision ( RD). This is typically January 01, though some schools  have February deadlines.

 If you have a clear cut dream university, considering applying early decision. Early Decision  ( ED)applications are typicalluy due by November 01.  You will know of the result by mid December. When you apply early decision the offer is binding. If accepted your next step is to send a deposit to secue your  place in the class of 2023.

 Some things to keep  in mind - because of its  binding nature you can only apply to one university early decision.   You can still apply to other schools thriugh Early Action or RD  admissions

 Early Action(EA) has a similar deadline  of  Nov 15 , although a few universities  have deadlines of October 15 ( I will be listing details  in future posts). EA decisions will also come in mid December but threy are not binding. 

In my opinion there is no down side to an EA application.     You know by mid December and will have until April to accept  which means tiy can still apply RD to several schools and  then make an informed decision in April.

 Some excellent EA options are Michigan ,  illinois, Georgia Tech,  Case Western and  Georgetown.

 Finally you havr restrictive early action ( REA. This is olowed only by  Harvard, Yale,  Princeton and Stanford.

 The application deadline remains Nov 01 but  under REA you cannopy apply to any otherED or  EA options you  need to apply to all other schools under an RD cycle.

 One advantage of REA  over  ED is that it is not binding , you still have until April  to decide.

 In short apply REA if Stanford, Yale, Harvard or Princeton is your dream university.  Otherwise consider an ED application to your dream college. keep a few EA options too.

  Otherwise apply to a few  strong EA programs and  the rest  RD.

 The advantages of an early application.

 by starting early you will be better prepared for the RD applications

•  If you get accepted to a EA option you can eliminate some colleges from your application list.
•  EA, RD, REA accveptance rates are as miuch as three times higher than RD figures.

 Further posts will gave more details.

Application options

 The college application process is a lot of work and can easily be confusing and stressful.

 It does not help that for many students they will need to complete  three or more applications.

 Almost everyone will need to complete the common application. This is used by  700  universities including many ivy league schools.

 The   other application that is widely used is the Coalition application. The complete name is the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success. nearly 200-member programs support this application. The universal application is newer and is also used by several programs.

 Finally some universities have their own applications.

 Most notable the University of California application used by all 10 of the  UC campuses.  Texas apply is the application for the University of Texas system.

  MIT is the only  private university to have its own  application.

  Even The University of Chicago has given up on its uncommon application and uses the common application  with an "uncommon supplement"

Happy Teachers Day

 Today is teachers day. I would like to acknowledge all the great teachers I have been forunate to have studied with.

This serves as a timely reminder for college applicants that you need to get teacher recommendations. Please pick teachers who know you well and can write something meaningful about you. Ideally the teacher should teach a subject related to your intended major.

 A good recommendation will focus on your abilities and interests and not grades. It helps if the teacher can write something involving a relevant anecdote to talk about your problem-solving skills. Do suggest this to your teacher

 Your personal rapport with the teacher should be a key factor.  A good recommendation will talk about your problem-solving ability and how you are able to work in groups.

 Even though I majored in computer science, my recommendation was written by my French teacher as it was a small class  and  I  we had a sense of mutual respect between us.