Want to know where you are going to college by December?
So do a lot of students, which is why Early Decision (ED) programs are so popular.
Watch out though.
ED plans have their pitfalls.
What if you realize you’d actually prefer to attend another school? What if you change your mind?
Too bad.
What if the financial aid package isn’t so great?
Sorry. You’re stuck. You have very limited negotiating power when you can’t show a college any competing offers.
Early Decision is limiting, and while for some students that admissions advantage makes it a worthwhile choice, in general, I’d recommend Early Action (EA) plans instead.
EA plans will give you your decision just as early as ED plans but without the downsides.
You are not required to attend a school you are admitted to through an EA program, and you can apply to more schools in the regular round so that you can compare aid offers.
In many cases, you can even apply to multiple schools through EA so that you can have multiple offers by December.
Sure, the admissions advantage of EA may be smaller than for ED, but for many schools, early applicant pools still have slightly higher admissions rates than in the regular pool.
Below, you’ll find of list of colleges that offer EA programs (data thanks to College Lists). With the exception of the few schools on this list marked as “single choice,” apply to as many of these colleges as you want early and get your decision before regular applications at most colleges are even due!
ALABAMA
Auburn University
Birmingham-Southern College
ARIZONA
Arizona Christian University
ARKANSAS
Hendrix College
Lyon College
University of Arkansas
CALIFORNIA
Azusa Pacific University
Biola University
California Baptist University
California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech)
California Lutheran University
Chapman University
Concordia University Irvine
Loyola Marymount University
Menlo College
Mills College
Mount Saint Mary’s College
Notre Dame de Namur University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Santa Clara University
Soka University of America
Saint Mary’s College of California
Stanford University (single choice)
The Master’s College
University of Redlands
University of San Francisco
University of the Pacific
Westmont College
Whittier College
COLORADO
Colorado College
Colorado State University
Fort Lewis College
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Denver
CONNECTICUT
Fairfield University
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of Hartford
University of New Haven
Yale University (single choice)
DELAWARE
Delaware College of Art and Design
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Catholic University of America
Georgetown University
Howard University
Trinity Washington University
FLORIDA
Eckerd College
Palm Beach Atlantic University
University of Miami
University of Tampa
GEORGIA
Agnes Scott College
Brewton-Parker College
Georgia College and State University
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Georgia State University
Mercer University
Morehouse College
Oglethorpe University
Spelman College
University of Georgia
IDAHO
College of Idaho
Northwest Nazarene University
ILLINOIS
DePaul University
Illinois College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Knox College
Lake Forest College
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
University of Chicago
Wheaton College
INDIANA
Butler University
DePauw University
Earlham College
Grace College
Hanover College
Purdue University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Taylor University
University of Evansville
University of Notre Dame
Wabash College
IOWA
Coe College
Cornell College
Wartburg College
KENTUCKY
Bellarmine College
Centre College
Georgetown College
Transylvania University
LOUISIANA
Centenary College of Louisiana
Dillard College
Tulane University
Xavier University of Louisiana
MAINE
Maine College of Art
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Thomas College
Unity College in Maine
University of Maine
University of Maine at Farmington
University of Maine at Machias
University of New England
MARYLAND
Goucher College
Hood College
Loyola University in Maryland
McDaniel College
Mount Saint Mary’s University
Salisbury University
Saint John’s College
University of Maryland Baltimore County
University of Maryland College Park
Washington College
MASSACHUSETTS
Assumption College
Babson College
Bay Path College
Becker College
Bentley University
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Bridgewater State University
Clark University
Curry College
Dean College
Emerson College
Emmanuel College
Framingham State University
Gordon College
Hampshire College
Harvard University (single choice)
Lasell College
Lesley University
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Merrimack College
Montserrat College of Art
Nichols College
Northeastern University
Regis College
Salem State University
Simmons College
Stonehill College
Suffolk University
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Wheaton College
Wheelock College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
MICHIGAN
Albion College
Hillsdale College
Kalamazoo College
Michigan State University
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
MINNESOTA
College of Saint Benedict
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamline University
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Saint John’s University
MISSISSIPPI
Millsaps College
MISSOURI
Stephens College
MONTANA
Carroll College
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Colby-Sawyer College
Rivier College
Saint Anselm College
Southern New Hampshire College
University of New Hampshire
NEW JERSEY
Bloomfield College
Caldwell University
Georgian Court University
Monmouth University
Montclair State University
Princeton University (single choice)
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rider University
Rutgers University (all campuses)
Saint Peter’s University
Seton Hall University
William Paterson University of New Jersey
NEW MEXICO
Saint John’s College
NEW YORK
Adelphi University
Bard College
College of Mount Saint Vincent
College of Saint Rose
Concordia College
Dowling College
Fordham University
Hofstra University
Iona College
Ithaca College
LIM College
LeMoyne College
Manhattanville College
Marist College
Mercy College
Molloy College
Nazareth College
New York Institute of Technology
Pace University, New York City
Pace University, Briarcliff/Pleasantville
Parsons The New School for Design
Pratt Institute
Siena College
State University of New York (SUNY)
College at Cortland
SUNY College at New Paltz
SUNY College at Oneonta
SUNY College at Purchase
SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome
SUNY University at Albany
SUNY University at Binghamton
The King’s College
The Sage Colleges
Wells College
NORTH CAROLINA
Elon University
Greensboro College
Guilford College
High Point University
Lenoir-Rhyne College
North Carolina State University
Piedmont International University
Queens University of Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Western Carolina University
William Peace University
OHIO
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Institute of Art
College of Wooster
Columbus College of Art and Design
John Carroll University
Miami University of Ohio
Ohio Wesleyan University
University of Akron
University of Dayton
Wittenberg University
OKLAHOMA
University of Tulsa
OREGON
George Fox University
Lewis and Clark College
Linfield College
Oregon State University
University of Oregon
Willamette University
PENNSYLVANIA
Dickinson College
Drexel University
Duquesne University
LaSalle University
Lycoming College
Saint Joseph’s University
Temple University
University of Scranton
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Washington and Jefferson College
Westminster College
PUERTO RICO
University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
RHODE ISLAND
Bryant University
Providence College
Roger Williams University
Salve Regina University
University of Rhode Island
SOUTH CAROLINA
College of Charleston
Erskine College
Furman University
Presbyterian College
University of South Carolina at Columbia
Wofford College
TENNESSEE
Fisk University
Rhodes College
Sewanee: University of the South
TEXAS
Abilene Christian University
Austin College
Baylor University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Tarleton State University
Texas Christian University
Trinity University
University of Dallas
University of Saint Thomas
UTAH
Neumont University
VERMONT
Bennington College
Green Mountain College
Lyndon State College
Marlboro College
Saint Michael’s College
Sterling College
University of Vermont
VIRGINIA
Christendom College
Christopher Newport University
Emory and Henry College
George Mason University
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampton University
Hollins University
James Madison University
Longwood University
Old Dominion University
Patrick Henry College
Radford University
Randolph College
Randolph-Macon College
University of Mary Washington
University of Virginia
University of Virginia College at Wise
WASHINGTON
Gonzaga University
Northwest University
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University
Whitworth University
WEST VIRGINIA
Shepherd University
WISCONSIN
Beloit College
Lawrence University
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design