What is the signficance of EA, ED, ED2, RD, REA, SCEA etc?

Applying to College
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Some more points to add to the posts above:

  1. If a college offers both EA and ED (not many do - but some like UChicago do), the college might view an applicant applying EA as less committed to the college than one applying ED. If the EA applicant would otherwise qualify for acceptance they might get a deferral instead.

  2. Be aware of what percent of the freshman class is filled through EA/ED (although this information isn’t always published). Some schools like UMD College Park fill 90%+ from EA so if you apply RD you’re significantly narrowing your chances.

  3. There’s a variation to EA offered by some private colleges (mostly the elites): Restrictive Early Acceptance (REA) also known as Single Choice Early Action (SCEA). This is like EA in that it’s non-binding, but it restricts you from applying EA/ED to any other private college.

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