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Can I Change My Emory Application from Regular Decision to Early Decision?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | Nov. 21, 2011

Question: I applied to Emory University Regular Decision and the more I think about it I realize that I may have wanted to apply Early Decision. The Early Decision II deadline is January 1st. I was wondering if there is any way that I can change my already submitted application from Regular Decision to Early Decision? Thank you for any help you can offer.

You absolutely CAN change your admission plan, and Emory will probably be delighted to hear that you are. Call Emory ASAP and simply tell the person you speak with that you want to do this. Then he or she should give you the next steps. You, a parent/guardian, and your guidance counselor will have to fill out the ED commitment form that you'll find on the Common App Web site. Because you already submitted a Regular Decision application, the Common App may not "let" you send an electronic version of the ED commitment. If that's the case, you can fill out and print the .pdf version that you'll find here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012/2012EarlyDecision_download.pdfand ask your counselor to fax it once it's signed.

When you call Emory, make sure that you get the name of the staff member you speak with. Also ask for the name and email address of the staff member who oversees applicants from your high school (who may be the same person you speak to on the phone but probably not).

Wait about a week AFTER you've submitted the ED commitment form and then send an email to this regional rep to confirm that it arrived safely and that the change of status has been made on your application.

If you have already submitted your entire application, it's conceivable that the Emory staff member you speak with may ask you if you want to be considered under the ED I plan rather than under ED II. Even though it's now three weeks past the ED I deadline, and it's unlikely that this option will come up, it's not impossible either. So, before you telephone Emory, think about what your answer will be. If you had a good junior year and got off to a strong start this fall, then there's probably no down side to joining the ED I pool. But if you're counting on improving your grades this semester before your admission verdict is handed down or if you're still waiting for new test scores, then you should stick with ED II.

Good luck!

(posted 11/21/2011)

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.