Glossary · Financial Aid
Restrictive Early Action
A non-binding early application plan that restricts the student from applying Early Decision or Early Action to other private colleges, though public university EA applications are typically permitted. Used by schools like Georgetown and Notre Dame.
What it means
Restrictive Early Action sits between standard EA and Early Decision. Like EA, it is non-binding, so the student is not committed to attend. But like ED, it limits where else the student can apply early. The specific restrictions vary by school. Georgetown’s REA prohibits applying ED or EA to other private universities but allows EA to public universities. Notre Dame’s version has similar constraints.
For merit aid strategy, REA carries the same timing benefit as EA (earlier decision, more planning time) with less flexibility than standard EA. If a student applies REA to Georgetown, they cannot also apply EA to Tulane or Case Western for early merit consideration. They can apply EA to public schools like Alabama or Arizona State.
The trade-off is worth it only if the REA school is the student’s strong first choice. If the student is primarily chasing merit dollars and wants to compare early offers from multiple private schools, standard EA at those schools is a better strategy than locking into one REA.
Worked example
A student applies REA to Notre Dame on November 1. Under Notre Dame’s policy, the student can also apply EA to the University of Michigan (public) and Alabama (public) but cannot apply EA or ED to Boston College (private) or Tulane (private). The student receives a Notre Dame decision in mid-December. If admitted, they can compare Notre Dame’s financial package against Alabama’s known merit tier (formula-based, already calculable). If deferred or denied, they apply Regular Decision to BC and Tulane in January.
Related terms
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