The most anticipated moment during a senior’s year of high school is opening up the college decisions that dictates their next four years. With college decisions coming out left and right, Warriors are getting accepted into colleges all around the nation. Among these Warriors, there are a few who knew exactly where they wanted to go and made the binding decision of applying Early Decision to the colleges of their dreams. 

A few exceptional Warriors have already been accepted to their number one colleges through applying early decision. Two of these applicants are Virginia Moses, who was accepted to Vanderbilt University and Nora Rosenfeld who was accepted to Northwestern University. “I definitely recommend applying ED if you have a clear top choice because it is so nice to know early where you are going,” said Rosenfeld. “It takes some of the stress off of your senior year.”

Applying early decision can be a difficult decision to make. Getting in means applicants are required to enroll, which leaves no room for last minute change or second guesses. Demonstrated interest and commitment is shown by applicants who apply early decision and some colleges are known for accepting a large portion of its enrollment class through this process. “I researched different colleges until I found one where I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing any of the things I wanted,” said Rosenfeld.

A lot of different factors and research goes into the college application process, and it is important for early decision applicants to truly know what they want for their college experience and future. Visiting the colleges and getting a feel for what the culture is like there can be important when narrowing down a college list, and with this year’s circumstances, colleges have set up virtual touring so potential students can still tour the campus. Ensuring that a college has all that a student wants in their next four years of schooling is crucial as well. “I toured Vanderbilt my sophomore year and felt that I had the best chance of getting in through early decision,” said Moses. “They also had my major, Child Development, which very few schools have so that was also a big part of my decision.”

There are many pros to applying early decision. Applicants who are accepted might then have a stress free senior year knowing they are going to their top choice. If a student is not accepted during the initial early decision round, their application is either denied or reevaluated during the regular decision round so they have another chance to get in. While some Warriors have already heard back from prospective colleges, many are still eagerly awaiting an update to their portal status with fingers crossed and high hopes.