It’s that time of year again. As seniors continue to finalize their college applications, students are posing the annual questions about Early Action (EA) vs. Early Decision (ED).

The fundamental difference between the two is that for ED, one can only apply so to one school and, if admitted, must withdraw all other applications. Whereas EA is a non-binding option, submitted to demonstrate interest.

“It gives the student, depending on the school, 10, 15, to 20 percent boost in your chances to get in [to a school] if you go Early Decision,” said New Trier Post-High School Counseling department chair James Conroy.

While many schools offer EA, it is ED that causes the most stress for students. The issue of signing a binding contract often drives students away from applying ED.

One of the issues that has arisen with ED is that colleges and universities are beginning to fill up their classes with ED applicants.

“The problem you have to remember is, 10 years ago most colleges admitted 15 to 20 percent of their kids Early Decision, some of them now are at up to 50 to 60 percent,” said Conroy.

On the contrary, the non-binding nature of EA makes it especially appealing. EA generally entails an earlier deadline than regular decision, but it also notifies applicants earlier. EA deadlines also tend to correlate with scholarship deadlines so it behooves students to finish their application by the early deadlines.

There are schools that offer another alternative to ED and EA, known as Single-Choice Early Action, which is a combination of both EA and ED. In this case, students are telling a school that it is their number one choice. Schools such as Tulane and Stanford both offer this type of application. At Tulane, if one does choose Single-Choice EA, the student is not allowed to apply to any other private institutions, therefore demonstrating your interest in Tulane itself.

“It depends upon you as a student,” said Conroy. “There are students who sit there and say ‘I cannot make this decision on Early Decision.’ Thats’s fine, let’s move on….I’m a firm believer in, ‘you move on.'”