There are several types of college admissions deadlines, each with advantages and disadvantages. Here is a helpful guide to every sort of deadline acronym you could encounter along your college admissions journey.
Early Action (EA): Early Action applications are usually submitted in October or November, and applicants can usually expect to hear back by December or January. EA is non-binding, meaning you can apply to as many colleges that offer it as you would like, and accepted students have until May 1 to deposit at the college.
Restricted Early Action (REA) & Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA): This is where things get complicated. REA and SCEA can vary by college. Two things all of the variations of REA and SCEA have in common are if an applicant applies REA or SCEA, they can't apply Early Decision anywhere else, and applicants accepted through REA and SCEA have until May 1 to deposit.
There may, however, be other restrictions. For example:
"Early Action (Georgetown's program) allows applicants to make multiple Early Action applications, so long as they are not applying to a binding Early Decision Program. Applicants admitted in December under Early Action have until May 1 to decide whether or not to attend."
"If you apply to Stanford with a decision plan of Restrictive Early Action, you may not apply to any other private college/university under their Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, Early Decision, or Early Notification plan."
And here's Yale's SCEA policy:
"Yale's Early Action program is unlike many other programs in that applicants who apply through Single-Choice Early Action at Yale may not also apply through Early Action or Early Decision to any other school with a few exceptions (see below).
Single-Choice Early Action applicants may also apply through other early admissions programs if the other program fits any of the descriptions below:
The early admissions program is a non-binding rolling admission program.
The early admissions program is a non-binding early program at a public institution.
The early admissions program is an Early Decision or Early Action program that notifies applicants after January 1.
The early admissions program is at an institution outside the United States."
Early Decision (ED): Early Decision is binding. If accepted, you commit to attending the college, so it is an option that can only be used for one college and only if you are 100% certain you would like to enroll. Before you submit your ED application, you, your parents, and your school counselor will sign an agreement stating that you will attend if accepted, withdraw the applications you've already submitted to other colleges, and won't submit more applications.
Like Early Action, applications are due in October or November; students can expect news by mid-December. Some colleges also offer a second round of Early Decision. ED II functions the same way as ED I, aside from the timeline–applications are due in January, and students hear back in February.
Regular Decision (RD): Regular Decision is the most common type of deadline and is non-binding. The deadline is usually in January or February, with decisions released by April.
Rolling Admission: Colleges with rolling admissions accept applications until the class fills up, usually in spring or as late as summer.
Which deadline is best?
That depends entirely on the student. Students usually have a better chance of acceptance if they apply ED, as the application pool is smaller, and colleges usually accept a higher percentage of applicants from this pool. However, the "boost" provided by applying ED can vary tremendously by college.
ED I or ED II are options that should only be used if the student is 100% sure about a college, both academically and financially (colleges do usually release students from their commitment if the financial aid package is insufficient; however, applying ED does not allow students to compare aid packages or merit scholarships across colleges). If you do choose to apply ED, be sure to have other applications ready by the RD deadline if you are denied.
EA is always a good alternative if the college offers it, as it is non-binding, and students can expect to hear back sooner than they would otherwise. Students applying EA also usually have the best consideration for merit scholarships and other programs, so it's often a good target.
SCEA and REA don't have the pressure of being binding, but make sure you understand each college's policy.
Regular decision is the default option; most applications for most students will fall under this option.