College Applications Should I Apply Restrictive Early Action? | College Coach Blog Written by Christine Kenyonon October 22nd, 2015 I first encountered the world of undergraduate admission as a student volunteer in the Boston College Office of Undergraduate Admission. While I was pursuing my graduate degree, I received a graduate assistantship in BC’s admission office, where I worked part-time as an admission counselor. This is when I truly fell in love with undergraduate admission, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history! After receiving my master's degree, I accepted a position at Babson College where I reviewed applications from students in the northeastern and southern regions of the US and international students. Additionally, I oversaw the Weissman Scholarship and Enrico Scholarship application processes, served as a co-coordinator of transfer admission, and assisted with multicultural recruitment. I also mentored many of Babson’s first-generation college students and served as the advisor to the Babson Admission Mentors program. Most recently, I worked as a professional reader and interviewer for the scholarships affiliated with the Morehead-Cain Foundation at UNC Chapel Hill and the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program (a partnership between Duke and UNC). Learn More About Christine college admissions consulting, college applications, early action, early decision, Early Action (EA) has become more confusing in recent years with the advent of “Single-Choice Early Action” or “Restrictive Early Action.” In today’s post we are going to break down what Single Choice Early Action/Restrictive Early Action mean so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not you should apply under this application plan. What is Single-Choice/Restrictive Early Action? Unlike Early Decision, Single-Choice/Restrictive EA allows students to apply earlier in their senior year without having to make a binding commitment to enroll at the institution if admitted. Additionally, students who apply via Single-Choice/Restrictive EA are welcome to apply to non-binding programs at public colleges/universities and international institutions at the same time. Sounds pretty good so far, right? Well, Single-Choice/Restrictive Early Action does come with a catch: students may not apply to other private institutions via an Early program, including Early Decision, Early Action, and any other college’s Single-Choice or Restrictive Early Action. (Note: some colleges that offer Single-Choice/Restrictive EA have wiggle room regarding Early Decision II programs and Rolling Admission programs, but that’s something to look closely at per each institution you plan to apply.) Why apply to a school with Single-Choice/Restrictive Early Action? Single-Choice/Restrictive EA is a method by which colleges can identify students who are truly interested in their university, and most likely to enroll if admitted. The admission office wants to know that you are choosing to forgo the Early Action or Early Decision benefit at other applicable schools to show that their college is where you want to be. Each year it is harder and harder for admission offices to predict whether or not an admitted student will actually enroll at the college. Thus Single-Choice/Restrictive EA allows the admission office to have a stronger gauge of the likelihood that a student might actually accept an offer of admission and matriculate at the college. At some schools, like Tulane, Single Choice Early Action is more similar to the Early Decision process in that it is the best way for a student to truly demonstrate their interest. At Tulane, if a student is a borderline candidate, applying Single-Choice EA might give them an extra push in the admission process. At other institutions, like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, Single-Choice/Restrictive EA does not increase your chance of admission. While the acceptance rate through Single-Choice/Restrictive EA might be higher than Regular Decision depending on the school, the EA pool at Ivy League and other highly selective institutions usually contains the strongest applicants in the admission pool, so looking solely at admit rate can be misleading. How do I choose if Single-Choice/Restrictive Early Action is right for me? Talk to your family, your counselor, and think about whether there is one school you are truly interested in attending, with the understanding that you might be forgoing the Early Decision or Early Action benefit at other colleges to do so. Single Choice Early Action/Restrictive Early Action is a great way to apply and hear back from your top-choice college earlier in the process, while being given the flexibility to evaluate your financial aid awards before committing to one school. However, you need to be comfortable with the restrictions placed on your ability to apply to other institutions at the same time. Above all else, make sure you read the details of Single-Choice/Restrictive EA closely because each college varies in the exact details of their policy for this application plan. Related Resources Read | Posted on November 15th, 2023 How to Reduce the Cost of Applying to College Read | Posted on October 12th, 2023 Financial Implications of Applying Early Decision Read | Posted on October 6th, 2023 What are the Different College Admissions Deadline Types?
