Early Decision II An FAQ and list of participating colleges

Early Decision II: An FAQ and list of participating colleges (List of ED II colleges updated November 2019see below)Early Decision is quickly becoming a misnomer.   An increasing number of highly selective institutions have initiated a second round of binding admission programs, giving students another chance to commit to a college before acceptance and possibly reap admissions-related benefits in the process. Unlike traditional Early Decision (ED I) programs with deadlines in October or November, Early Decision II allows students to wait until later in the admissions cycle to claim their allegiance to a particular school. Most of these deadlines typically fall in early or mid-January and admissions decisions are typically rendered in early-to-mid February.Why do colleges offer Early Decision II?Colleges offer an ED II option primarily as means to improve their yield rates (i.e. the percentage of admitted students who attend)—an important indicator of desirability and one that can have significant influence on a college’s ranki ng. Effectively, ED II offers institutions a second chance to grab guaranteed enrollees.      Why would a student apply Early Decision II?Two reasons, in particular. First, a student may be denied at her first choice college—to which she applied Early Decision—but has a clear second favorite and wants to improve her odds of admission at that institution (see our Dataverse to compare the 2018-19 ED vs RD acceptance rates). Tufts University, for example, admits 65% of their freshman class through the ED I II cycles; Bates and Middlebury bring in 64% of their first-years this way. They all, like thousands of other schools, show extra love to applicants who pledge attendance. Second, a student may apply ED to take advantage of the flexibility that a later deadline offers. For example, ED II applicants have more time to improve their standardized test scores, solidify their college preferences and assess their financial need. Students applying ED II also have an opport unity to submit strong grades earned during their senior year, whereas ED I applicants are usually evaluated on the basis of their academic performance through junior year only.  Connecticut College explicitly states on their website that standardized tests taken in December of a student’s senior year will be considered in the ED II process.When exactly is Early Decision II?Most application deadlines for ED II fall on January 1, at or around the same time as Regular Decision deadlines. ED II applicants usually receive a decision in mid-February. Of course, exact deadlines and policies vary by school. For example, Boston University ED II apps are due by January 6th, NYU’s are due on New Year’s Day, while Lafayette College offers a deadline of January 15th. Lafayette outwardly tells students on their website that those who choose the ED II option will be given special consideration for admission.Aside from timing, what other differences exist between Early Decis ion I and Early Decision II?None, really. Both offer potential advantages in the admissions process. However, both plans are also binding, meaning that you must attend if admitted.So which institutions offer Early Decision II?Plenty. Below, please find a list of selective colleges and universities offering an ED II option:American UniversityBabson CollegeBates CollegeBoston UniversityBennington CollegeBentley UniversityBowdoin CollegeBrandeis UniversityBryant UniversityBryn Mawr CollegeBucknell UniversityCarleton CollegeCase Western Reserve UniversityClaremont McKenna CollegeColby CollegeColgate UniversityCollege of the AtlanticCollege of the Holy CrossCollege of William and MaryCollege of WoosterColorado CollegeConnecticut CollegeDavidson CollegeDenison CollegeDickinson CollegeEmory UniversityFranklin Marshall CollegeGeorge Washington UniversityGettysburg CollegeGrinnell CollegeHamilton CollegeHarvey Mudd CollegeHaverford CollegeHobart and William Smith CollegesJuniata CollegeKeny on CollegeLafayette CollegeLehigh UniversityMacalester CollegeMiddlebury CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeNew York UniversityNortheastern UniversityOberlin CollegeOccidental CollegePitzer CollegePomona CollegeReed CollegeRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRhodes CollegeSaint Olaf CollegeSanta Clara CollegeSarah Lawrence CollegeScripps CollegeSewanee: The University of the SouthSkidmore CollegeSmith CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSyracuse UniversityTrinity CollegeTrinity UniversityTufts UniversityTulane UniversityUnion CollegeUniversity of ChicagoUniversity of MiamiUniversity of RichmondVanderbilt UniversityVassar CollegeWake Forest UniversityWashington UniversityWashington and Lee UniversityWellesley CollegeWesleyan UniversityWhitman College