To set the record straight for students applying in the US

There are two types of early applications, early decision and early action. Early decision is when you apply early to a college with the intention that if you get in, you'll go. You're locked to the school, so to speak, if you're accepted. Early action is just applying early and then hearing back earlier. You're not tied to the school like with ED. As far as I'm aware, you probably too late for either of these, unless you've already filled out your applications and taken SATs. As for regular application, different schools have different deadlines, I'm not really sure whats normal

Ok thanks for your help - but what's the point of early action? Does it mean you're more likely to get in? Are there any restrictions on it like with early decision? Oh and for regular action do they consider all the applications after they've come in or first come first served? Thanks

Hey! Most people who apply early action just do so because they want to know the outcome of their application sooner. Regular decision people don't usually find out the outcome of their application until March or April, so knowing that you've been accepted in the middle of December can be a relief if you tend to stress out a lot! There is no binding contract like Early Decision, so Early Action really is just a way of speeding up the application process. Whether it will help your chances, I don't really know. Early decision definitely does help your chances because schools like to have a certain amount of the class locked into attending... it helps their admission statistics if more people who are admitted attend.

Early action lets the school know you're really interested, so that is a plus. But the people who apply early action all tend to be extremely qualified, so a weaker application will pale in comparison to all the great applications... so this can be a disadvantage. If you have the opportunity to apply early action, however, I would definitely reccommend doing it! It helps you keep on top of application deadlines and the sooner apps are done with, the happier you'll be. Plus, if you totally screw up, you'll have time to rectify your mistake and get your app in for regular decision.

It really doesn't matter all that much what choice you make in terms of Early Action/Early Decision/Regular decision... far more important is getting the app done and submitting the strongest application possible; in the end, this is what is going to get you into the school and when you submitted the app isn't going to matter nearly as much.

Oh... and for all of these deadlines, as long as you get your app in by the deadline it will be assessed the same as all the other applications. Colleges wait until all apps are in before they start reviewing them. It is different from UCAS and British schools which start giving out offers the moment they start receiving apps. There is not too much pressure to get the app in super early like with British schools.

Hope this helps!

Is Brown actually any good? I heard it's got a great atmosphere (and hot girls), but how is it academically?

Thanks

Yes, it is quite good. Unfortunately on the West Coast many people have not heard of it. Then again that situation applies vice versa. I've also heard it is extremely liberal...so I don't know if that affects your decision at all.

The best private universities are the Ivies, MIT, Stanford. The best public universities are Berkeley, U Michigan-Ann Arbor, UCLA, and UVA. Many people unfortunately have not heard of William and Mary, and it is not extremely highly regarded. (if you're rankings-oriented..check out USNews for the annual rankings, but take them with a grain of salt.)

If you want more information and verification of what i've said, please visit talk.collegeconfidential.com. Here you can get tons of information regarding American universities.

I wish you luck Acey in applying, because you'll need it.

Haha, very kind of you. I was actually thinking Harvard.. shouldn't be too hard eh? How's England treating you?

I find that students who feel most strongly about the "Ivy League" title are students at Columbia, Brown, and Cornell--the (very slightly) less highly regarded. I have found some students at those schools quite hostile to my Stanford experience, which is pretty sad.

I feel like I'm always doing this, but also check: Loren Pope's Looking Beyond the Ivy League. People around here tend to freak about reputation and all that jazz, but there's a whole lot more that goes into choosing a university! This is a time in your life when you're going to change drastically as a person and one that could quite possibly shape the direction of your life! Don't just pick it off a league table: do the research, visit the institution, talk to the professors in your department and be convinced that this is the place in which you will feel comfortable learning, exploring, and changing!

Am I convinced that reputation matters more at the graduate, professional and postgraduate degree level? Yes. But, undergrad? I think that who you are at the end of those three or four years is far a more important consideration.

One other thing to bear in mind is that you major in a subject in America, but you have to take classes in other subjects as well (which is a mixed blessings).