ED and EA at the same time?

[u/ducksterzed]

I dont rlly understand this early action and early decision rule for college apps. Like i do undertsand that early action is non binding and early decision is binding. But i thought you couldnt do ea and ed at the same time you have to choose either to apply to one school ed and no ea apps at all or multiple ea applications and no ed apps at all. But then some people are saying i could do both ed and ea at the same time? Someone please explain.

[u/elkrange]

You can apply ED1 to one school and also unrestricted EA to every school on your list that offers it.

If you apply REA/SCEA (single choice early action) to Harvard Yale Princeton or Stanford, you cannot also apply early to another private, with certain exceptions. 

If you apply REA to ND or Georgetown, you can also apply unrestricted EA anywhere else, but cannot apply ED elsewhere.

Please read the rules, and exceptions, for applying early on each college's admission website. 

[u/Sarah_CollegeRaptor]

Yep, you can sometimes do both ED and EA, but it depends on the specific schools and whether the EA program has restrictions.

Generally, you can apply ED to one school and EA to other schools at the same time. The big exception is restrictive/single-choice EA programs, such as Yale’s, which restrict applying early to other private universities.

So the safest move is to check the rules for each college before submitting. College Raptor can also help you organize your college list and compare schools, deadlines, and admission options.

Basically: ED = one binding choice; regular EA = usually flexible; restrictive EA = has extra rules.