ED2? What's that!
I value indecision. I know that may not be the most reassuring thing to hear from someone whose job is to make decisions, but when it comes to a monumental choice like whether or not to send a binding application, I find a little indecision to be healthy.
For some students, applying Early is easy. They have a dream school that fits them perfectly and has everything they’ve ever wanted in a college. For others, there’s still some hesitancy and applying binding in November feels uncomfortably decisive. That moment of pause before you press submit is exactly why we offer a program called Early Decision II. ED2 is, unsurprisingly, exactly like ED1, except a little bit later offering its applicants more time to decide whether or not a binding application is the right choice for them and their families (read Dean Coffin’s blog on Early Decision here).
For a lot of our applicants, late October comes too quickly while January 1st offers the time to develop more confidence not only in your list but in what you want as well. There’s no way to be sure you know what you’re looking for in college until you’re there experiencing it, but during such an immense time of personal growth like senior year of high school, a two month pause can make all the difference.
My recommendation to you now is simple: take a moment to think about where you’re applying and why. Hopefully you’re excited by the prospect of attending any school on your list, though if not maybe that necessitates some editing to begin with. Next, think about if there’s a school on your list that you’re most excited by, that you would enroll at even if you got into every other school you applied to. Now see if they have Early Decision II.
If binding still doesn’t sound like the plan for you, don’t worry! The majority of our applicants apply regular decision, you’re not alone. If however, upon looking at your list you find that Tufts keeps appearing at the top, consider applying ED2.
As a former ED2 applicant myself, there are few feelings as great as getting to close the book on your college process while nestled in a Tufts hoodie, be it through Early Decision in February or Regular in April. No matter what you choose good luck and congratulations on almost being done!
PS. The photo is of a cheese shop in the Netherlands, so many choices!