Insights on applying Early Decision from our director of undergraduate admission, Liz Kinsley

We get a lot of good questions about the differences between our Early Decision and Regular Decision application programs—especially this time of year, as seniors are refining their college lists. And even as most of us have returned to in-person daily life, this fall brings further considerations in light of the ongoing pandemic.

First, some basic timelines.
Early Decision (ED): Common Application or Coalition Application due Nov. 1; decision by mid-December.
Regular Decision (RD): Common Application or Coalition Application due Jan. 3; decision by late March.

Northwestern is also a QuestBridge partner school, and our Quest Scholars community is one of the largest in the country. If you’re interested in learning more about that application process, visit the QuestBridge website.

What is ED?
The most important thing to understand about ED is that it’s a binding program. This means that if you apply early to Northwestern, you are making a commitment to enroll if admitted.

When is ED the right option?

If you’ve done good college research and feel sure you’d be thrilled to call Northwestern home next fall, then ED could be a great option for you.

If you apply early, there three possible outcomes:

1) You may be admitted. An acceptance letter in mid-December would allow you to withdraw any other college applications and conclude your college admissions process before the new year. (If you have concerns around cost, particularly in a scenario where you can’t weigh multiple scholarship offers, read on to learn about our commitment to affordability.)

2) Your application may be deferred, which means it will automatically roll into our Regular Decision pool. We take this action when our admissions committee feels your application is very strong but wishes to consider it in the context of our full applicant pool. ED applicants who are deferred are no longer bound to the ED commitment if they are admitted in RD.

3) Your application may be denied. We understand this outcome may be very disappointing, but it does mean you can move forward with your other applications with clarity, and hopefully with excitement about all the other terrific colleges out there.

Is it easier to gain acceptance if I apply ED?
Our overall admit rate for 2021 was 7% with nearly 48,000 applicants, and you may be aware that our Early Decision applicant pool typically sees a higher admit rate than our Regular Decision pool. Over the past few years, we’ve admitted roughly half of our incoming class early (that is, around 1,000 students in a first-year class of roughly 2,000). Last year we received around 4,500 early applications.

Now, to take the statistics at face value and assume it’s “easier” to get into Northwestern early would be a mistake that overlooks a great deal of nuance—our early pool is smaller than our overall pool, and it is highly concentrated with very strong candidates who convey a clear understanding of why Northwestern is a good fit for them (and vice versa!). That said, if Northwestern is your top choice, we’d welcome and encourage your application early.

What about financial aid?
Our commitment to affordability and access is unwavering. Our review process is need-blind for domestic applicants, which means a candidate’s level of financial need has no bearing on their admission decision. We consider students equally whether or not they can afford the full cost of Northwestern, and we can do this in good conscience knowing we meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for every admitted student with no loans. Note that we are need-aware for international students, but we meet full need for all students regardless of citizenship. Aside from these baseline policies, the most important thing to understand is this: your financial aid offer will be exactly the same whether you apply ED or RD.

And here’s a little-known fact about financial aid and ED: if you and your family conclude that your need-based aid award isn’t sufficient to allow you to attend, and a financial-aid appeal does not change the circumstances, you may be released from the binding commitment. For what it’s worth, we don’t see many cases like this given our generous financial aid program, but the flexibility may prove reassuring all the same.

Our Net Price Calculators can give you a preliminary estimate of whether you will qualify for need-based financial aid, and, if so, what your loan-free aid package will look like. Our hope is that this tool can give you the confidence to apply early if you’re otherwise sure that Northwestern is the school for you.

What about considerations specific to Covid-19?

With all the turbulence of the past two years, we know it can be hard to feel certain about next week let alone next fall. We also recognize your high school experience has had many interruptions, and you may be weighing questions like, “Would it be wise to apply RD so I have first-semester grades from a fully in-person school year?” or “Who should I ask for recommendations since my junior-year teachers were mostly remote, and my senior-year teachers don’t know me well just yet?”

For starters, there are many ways to deepen your certainty around Northwestern if your initial impressions suggest a strong college fit. If you’re nearby or able to travel, you are welcome to join us in Evanston (just north of Chicago) for a campus tour. We offer limited spots on our student-led tours, as well as a robust self-guided tour. Fall Quarter is in full swing, and campus is wonderfully lively even as we continue with safety measures like modified dining options and masking indoors.

Additionally, over 97% of students are vaccinated, and nearly as many faculty and staff. While we don’t encourage visitors in classrooms at this time, our current students can share endless stories about Northwestern’s outstanding faculty and the courses they teach.

That said, Covid is still limiting travel for many this fall. And pandemic aside, distance, cost, and/or time constraints make it impossible for a majority of folks to visit campus in any year. The good news is we’ve developed a treasure trove of digital resources over the past 19 months to bring our community to you, wherever you are. In particular, our Admissions “office hours” and our Purple Preview Conversations are a great way to engage directly with current undergraduates. Additionally, our student panels will connect you with many voices and perspectives in a setting that is very human and true to the spirit of this place. We were heartened to see students in last year’s ED pool from places and schools we’d never been able to reach before in person, and who had not visited us, either—the connections they’d made with Northwestern over screens felt genuine and compelling enough to decide, “this place, and the people who make it special, are just what I’m looking for in my college experience.”

 

As for concerns about the timing or substance of your application given Covid-related interruptions: any school that has an Early Decision process intends to admit students through that round, and just as surely knows that applications may look a little different again this year. We know that most high schools were remote for much of last year. We know you may have Pass/No Pass grades in sophomore and junior year courses. We understand that teachers have experienced the challenges of this pandemic, too, and may not know you as well as they or you would like. And we appreciate that an additional recommendation from someone outside of class or an academic recommendation from your sophomore year may help convey a fuller picture of who you are. Finally, we know you may not have ACT or SAT scores you wish to include in your application—or have scores at all—which is why we remain test optional this cycle.

If ED feels like the right option for you, don’t opt for RD simply because you assume we’ll want to see a “more complete” picture. Our holistic review process has always evaluated applicants in context, and this fall, like last, we’ll lean on this fundamental practice as we do our very best to understand your strengths in light of the opportunities and challenges specific to your high school and community settings. (The same goes for our RD and Transfer processes.) Of course, if you feel sure your application would be strengthened by waiting until our Regular Decision round based on concrete factors that you want to see out, by all means give yourself the time to compile an application that tells the story you want it to tell.

Bottom line: you are who you are—you were before the pandemic, too—and we’ll connect the dots across the materials we have available to assess your relative strength in our applicant pool and your readiness to thrive at Northwestern. As always, your transcript will be fundamental to our review process, and we will look closely at the rigor of your curriculum, as characterized by your individual high school, as well as your academic performance.

Of course, by now the pandemic may have shaped who you are to some extent, and you are welcome to tell us how if you feel it will strengthen our understanding of your high school record and/or the type of college student you imagine yourself becoming. Your college counselor can help us by addressing any changes in curriculum, grading, etc. in the “community disruptions” section of this year’s school forms. And you’re also welcome to provide additional context in the optional “community disruptions” section of your application (what many call the “Covid question”), although you need not feel pressure to do so if there is nothing you’d like to share.

These are profoundly difficult times, but please don’t bend over backwards to come up with something profound to say about them—you have enough on your plate as it is.

Any further questions? Don’t hesitate to write us: ug-admission@northwestern.edu. And be sure to explore our virtual tour, YouTube channel, and social media accounts for current student perspectives.

Whether you choose ED or RD, we hope to see your Northwestern application in the coming months.

Warmly,

Liz Kinsley

Associate Dean & Director of Undergraduate Admission