Students applying for college have different options, depending on the school applied to. Certain schools offer rolling admissions, while others have hard-and-fast deadlines for submission of application requirements. Whatever the means of applying, college-bound students are advised to give their best to it.
Of all the ways to apply to college, there's one that typically gives better chances of being accepted, according to U.S. News - early application. There are certain colleges where students who tend to admit more early applicants compared to the number of regular applicants they accept. Thus, applying early for college in these institutions would almost always result in a yes.
Early applicants are more likely to be accepted compared to regular applicants. According to a survey of that looked into the acceptance rates of 245 colleges and universities, there is a substantial difference between the number of early and regular applicants that were accepted. On average, about 63.1% of early decision or early action applicants for fall 2015 were accepted, compared to 50.2% of regular applicants - showing a difference of 12.9 percentage points.
Here's a list of the top ten colleges, and the acceptance rate for early applicants according to the survey.
- Meredith College (NC) - 100%
- University at Albany-SUNY - 94.5%
- St. Lawrence University (NY) - 90.4%
- Denison University (OH) - 88.2%
- American University (DC) - 87.2%
- University of Tulsa (OK) - 79.5%
- College of the Holy Cross (MA) - 78.4%
- Trinity University (TX) - 77.3%
- Bard College (NY) - 75%
- Texas Christian University - 66.3%
Under early decision, students can typically apply to only one school, and if accepted they must attend. For less-restrictive early action and regular decisions options, however, there's the option to apply to several colleges, and should applicants be accepted, they can still choose to look for another one they prefer.
Rolling admissions, on the other hand, allow for relaxed application, and students can apply as long as the school allows it with less pressure. It gives students more time to look for a college that best fits them, and serves as a great fallback should they be denied acceptance in another school. Early applications are allowed in schools that offer this as well.
