Early Admission Policies  Following are several types of early admission policies: 1.  Early Action.  The student can apply to a college by an early deadline (set by a particular college) to guarantee his admission, without obligating himself to attend that particular college.  The student will then usually file for financial aid at the college under the same deadline as a regular student applicant. 2.  Early Decision.  The student can apply to a college by an early deadline to guarantee his admission, but is obligated to attend that particular college under a binding contract.  Early decision applicants file for financial aid early and are offered a financial aid award at an early date.  Once the student is committed to the college, he may lose some of his financial aid appeal. 3.  Early Notification.  The college notifies  the student of his admission status as the admission office makes its decision.  The student will apply for financial aid in the same manner as would a regular financial aid applicant.  By accepting the college's offer of admission, the student may be limiting his appeal options. 4.  Early Read.  The college will compute the student's EFC early and estimate the student's financial aid award.  Since this computation usually takes place early in the fall of the year, the student must submit estimated financial information to the college. The student should avoid allowing the college to perform an early read on his financial information.  Since the student's financial advisor could perform the EFC computation, it is of no benefit to the student to allow the college to have preview of his financial information.  If the student and his parents implement some financial strategies to lower the EFC, the college may questions these strategies if they have already seen the family's financial information.   Return to Education Startegy