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Can I Apply ED II After ED I Rejection?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | Dec. 9, 2011

Question: If I get rejected by my Early Decision I school in mid-December, am I allowed to apply to a different a school via Early Decision II in January? Thank you for your help.

Yes, if you have been denied in the ED I round, you are free to apply to an ED II college. In fact, even if you are deferred in the ED I round, you can still pursue another college via ED II, if you so choose. A growing number of seniors who are discouraged by ED I deferrals are choosing to try for ED II at a different school with the hope that the ED admissions-odds boost will help their chances. See this previous Ask the Dean column on what I call the "ED I, ED II ... Skidoo" http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/ed-i-ed-ii-skidoo

Note, however, that if you are deferred via ED I and then you apply elsewhere via ED II and are admitted, you can't wait until the spring to see if your ED I school says yes after all. You must matriculate at your ED II college (assuming that finances permit).

(posted 12/9/2011)

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.