The Schools Where You Can Improve Your Odds with Early Decision

It can be stressful to apply to a school for Early Decision. You’ll have to get everything ready by an earlier deadline—usually November 1st—and if accepted in December, you’ll be committing to that school without a chance to compare financial aid packages.

However, it can also be extremely beneficial to your chances of admission. Here’s a list of schools that, in 2024, admitted a higher percentage of students who applied Early Decision than through Regular Decision.

• The "ED ACCEPTANCE RATE" indicates the percentage of Early Decision applicants who were accepted (which does not include those placed on wait lists).
• The "OVERALL ACCEPTANCE RATE" indicates the percentage of all applicants (including those applying Early Decision) who were accepted.
• The "ED VS. OVERALL DIFFERENCE" compares the results from 2024: for instance, at Fairfield University, a 47% greater percentage of those who applied during Early Decision than those who applied otherwise were admitted.

Now this doesn’t mean you should throw caution to the wind and automatically submit Early Decision. Your odds may be better in Early Decision at these schools—but they’re not guaranteed, and what was true for 2024 may change in subsequent years.

These are also the raw numbers: yes, Binghamton University accepted 52% of all Early Decision applicants, as opposed to 38% of all its applicants. But those that got into that 52% likely had SAT scores in the 1360–1480 range and/or GPAs in the 3.75 range. If you can craft a stellar essay (like one of these), demonstrate great extracurriculars, and feature outstanding academic rigor, your odds are likely to grow even higher.

So whether you’re going the Early Decision route or not, consider getting a free consultation from a College Admissions Counselor. Every student has different needs, and you want to make sure you’re making the best decision for yourself, not rushing past campus visits and research into campus/academic offerings just to “get in.”

It’s also critical to consider the cost of these colleges. Take a look at these schools with our Search Tool, check out their net-price calculators, and examine our Best Value Colleges resource to make sure that you feel comfortable not just academically or socially but financially as well.

For more on this subject, check out The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief over on our YouTube channel.