ED (Early Decision) Agreements: Explainer & FAQs

When you are applying Early Decision to a college, you are committing to attend that college if they choose to accept you. Early Decision (ED) can be a fantastic way of communicating your enthusiasm to your dream college and can increase your chances of receiving an offer from them compared to applying as part of the (often much larger and more competitive) Regular Decision applicant pool.

Who signs the ED Agreement, and how?

There are normally three parties that sign the ED Agreement before it is sent to the university:

1. The applicant
2. The applicant’s parent or legal guardian
3. The applicant’s school counsellor

The signatures can usually be submitted electronically via the Common Application or Coalition Application portals. However, some colleges may require the signatures to be done by hand and scanned.

Will applying ED increase my chances significantly?

In most cases, yes. However, you need to make sure that your academic history and profile meet the general entry standards for that college or university. If you are unsure about the entry standards of a particular college, please consult your counsellor or mentor.

What are the possible outcomes of an ED application?

If you apply ED, there are four possible outcomes:

1. Acceptance - congratulations, you’re in!
2. Deferral - the college has not accepted you, but is interested in your application and would like to re-evaluate it under the Regular Decision (RD) scheme. In this case, your ED is no longer binding and you are free to accept offers from other institutions, and you can apply to colleges under the ED2 scheme.
3. Rejection - the college will no longer be considering your application.
4. Waitlist - in some rare instances, you may be directly placed on the college’s waitlist, which means you will need to wait until May to see if you can make it off the waitlist.

Can I apply ED to any college?

Not all colleges and universities offer ED schemes. In general, public universities do not offer Early Decision. Do check the admissions pages of your shortlisted universities to see whether they offer ED schemes or not.

Can I apply to multiple colleges under the ED Scheme?

No. You can only have one ED application submitted at a time. Some colleges also have an “ED2” round with deadlines close to the regular decision round. You can apply for ED2 if you did not apply to another institution under the ED scheme, or if your first ED application was deferred, declined or waitlisted.

Is an ED Agreement legally binding?

ED agreements are essentially honour-based agreements and are not legally binding, so you cannot be taken to court or penalised in the US or your home country by any legal authority for not honouring an ED agreement.

However, breaking an ED is seen as a significant breach of trust, as it is an agreement between not only the college and the student but also the parent and the school. If you decide not to attend a college that has offered you a place under ED, they are entitled to request you to provide a valid reason. If you fail to provide one, they may reach out to other institutions or your school to notify them of your actions and can also blacklist your school for a certain number of years.

I need Financial Aid. Can I still apply as an ED candidate?

In most cases where financial aid is available for you, yes. A few colleges do not consider ED applicants who are prospective international students for financial aid, so check the financial aid pages of a college’s website before applying for aid under the ED scheme.

If a college admits an applicant who needs aid, they are meant to meet the total demonstrated financial need of the applicant. If you feel the college has miscalculated your aid requirement, you should contact them and resubmit evidence of your financial circumstances, and they may re-evaluate and increase the amount they are awarding. If your ED college knowingly does not provide the aid you were asking for but still offers you a place, they will notify you that you are no longer bound by the ED agreement and can seek admission elsewhere.