Guidance: Prospective students in the US are most concerned about four types of enrollment forms

Beijing Examination Newspaper News (reporter Ma Haili) - Reporters learned through interviews that while some candidates are fully preparing for the college entrance examination, they are also paying attention to overseas study information, making dual preparations. Regarding the enthusiasm for studying in the United States, Wu Lin, IDP's chief consulting advisor for the U.S., stated that American colleges and universities have four forms of admissions: regular admissions, year-round acceptance of application forms, binding early decision admissions, and non-binding early decision admissions.

Wu Lin said that regular admissions is the standard admission method for American colleges and universities. It requires applicants to submit their application materials to the applied schools by a certain deadline (usually mid-January each year). After the deadline, the school’s admissions department reviews all application materials within a period of time. A few months later (usually at the end of March or early April), the applicant will receive notification from the school regarding whether they have been admitted or not. Since the composition structure of new students needs to be considered, the school will conduct a final review of all admission applications before making the final admission decision.

Most schools send out notifications to students who applied through regular admissions between the end of March to early April. Admitted students must respond by May 1st, after which the admission decision takes effect. For most top universities, this means that applicants can make their choice before May 1st, deciding whether to enroll and notifying the school that has admitted them. Before this date, the applicant can still wait for other universities' admission notices without having to rush to respond to the admission notice received.

The recruitment form that accepts application forms throughout the academic year involves the admissions personnel starting to review these materials once the applicant's materials arrive at the admissions office, then making decisions on whether to admit or not. For instance, the admissions season might start on October 1st, and the school requires all applicants to submit their application materials to the school's admissions department by a certain deadline in winter or spring. Wu Lin reminded that for students applying under this method, the earlier the application materials are sent out, the better.

Binding early decision policies are prepared by most top universities for students who are currently in the first semester of their senior year but have already selected their first-choice university. It requires students to apply for enrollment during the fall semester of their third year of high school. This admission notice is a binding admission contract. Schools practicing this admissions policy notify applicants of their decision several months after receiving the application materials. Once an applicant is admitted, they must attend that school. Once an ED (Early Decision) application is submitted to one school, the applicant no longer has the right to apply for ED or EA (Early Action) to other schools.

Only a small number of schools implement non-binding early decision recruitment policies. It allows applicants to submit early admission applications, and the school notifies the applicant of the review results one or two months later. Compared with binding early decision, this recruitment policy is not binding. If the applicant is accepted by the applied school, they do not necessarily have to attend that school, and can still wait for RD (Regular Decision) results from other schools before making a decision. Applicants applying under EA recruitment policies can simultaneously apply to another school, but cannot apply for ED to another school.

Candidates applying for studying in the U.S. can choose other ways to apply for studying in the U.S. if they miss one type of recruitment form. However, candidates should reasonably arrange their time when planning to study abroad, so as not to miss even the "last train". Click here to view the special column jointly built by Sina.com Education Channel and Beijing Examination Newspaper.