College acceptance letters have began to arrive to Arrowhead seniors as of this past Monday, November sixth. Universities from around the country, who have early action programs, delivered their acceptance letters electronically, via email or their websites.

Early action programs offer students the opportunity to hear back from colleges with their results much earlier than others. As long as students apply by a certain deadline(most commonly November 1st at 11:59 p.m.) they automatically qualify for early action. Schools such as Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and Florida Gulf Coast University are a few schools who take part in this.

“I heard back from Minnesota in about 10 days, which was a huge relief,” says Arrowhead senior Claire Lawrence.  “It was my top school all along so I feel super relaxed now. I’m also happy they offer early action. It’s really convenient and I think it tells you a lot about their school.”

Arrowhead senior Aly Ells also said she used early action.

“I applied with early action to the University of Indiana, University of Iowa, and Florida State University. I submitted all of them on the deadline with only an hour to spare. I haven’t heard back from any of them except for Iowa yet, but it says I’ll hear back in two weeks and it’s only been eight days. I’m just really impatient because Florida State is my number one school,” says Ells.

Some schools, such as UW-Madison or New York University, offer another program called early decision. Students still have to apply by the early action deadline, but if you choose early decision and you do get accepted it is binding—meaning they have no choice but to attend that university the following year. This is designated for students who are more than positive on where they want to go.

“I don’t think it would benefit me in the long run. I change my mind too much,” says Lawrence.

With regular deadlines approaching as early as December first, Arrowhead students will continue to work on their unsubmitted applications in hopes of more acceptance letters.