The Early Choice早期选择

The application process to U.S. universities is like a game. The application process itself is tedious and daunting, but the types of application — Early Action (EA), Early Decision (ED), Restrictive Early Action (REA), and Regular Decision (RD)—add to the fun of college application.

Mid-December is the time when the results of early applications come out. Early applications indicate people’s interests in specific schools and increase the applicants’ chances of getting in their favorite schools. Different types of “early” application involve different applying strategies. Each school offers one “early” application type. ED is binding while EA is non-binding. One can submit multiple EA applications but there can be only one ED application. ED and EA can coexist, but REA applicants are totally “restricted” in the early stage.

Because ED is binding, it’s always a tough decision to make. A friend of mine decided to submit an ED application to Brown. After numerous information sessions given by various colleges, she found out that the different schools actually shared a lot in common; they all bragged about their diversity, history, good location (whether urban or rural), strong faculty, and outstanding students. That’s why Brown, a school with distinguishing characteristic — the Open Curriculum — attracted her so much. After submitting her application to Brown, the period before the result came out was trying her soul. She initially considered herself a strong candidate, but when her unsatisfying November SAT scores came out, she committed herself to the RD applications and didn’t expect much from Brown.

Another friend had been in love with the University of Chicago for a long time, so her only early application went to U Chicago’s EA. It seemed an easy decision, but it took courage. Because U Chicago’s EA is non-binding, over 10,000 applicants from around the world submitted their EA applications this year, making it more competitive than Harvard. An ED application to another school would also stand a good chance, but a binding ED application would threaten her chance of going to U Chicago, so her only hope lay in the ultra-competitive U Chicago EA. Days before the results came out, she wondered if she could be chosen among the 10,000 early applicants.

The losses in early applications can be salvaged in Regular Decision, but there’s something that makes people feel particularly bad about early applications—deferral. One friend of mine is dubbed King of Deferral, for he submitted EA applications to half a dozen schools and got straight deferrals, which made him feel that his EA efforts had been in vain. However, his dream school, the University of Chicago, announced its results later than any other schools, giving him the last bit of faith in EA, but he expected a deferral anyway.

The three of them made tough choices, believed in their decisions, and had faith in themselves. With a little bit of luck, the three stories above are all capped with a letter of admissions starting with “Congratulations!”

申请美国大学如同一场竞赛，其过程单调无趣。幸好形形色色的申请类型：早期申请(EA)、早期选择(ED)、限制性早期选择(REA)和正常选择(RD)，为它增添了一抹亮色。

早期申请的结果于十二月中旬揭晓。它不仅展现了学生们对不同学校的兴趣，同时也增加了申请者的录取几率。不同的早期申请有着截然不同的要求；每个学校提供了不同的申请类型。ED是绑定契约，而EA则没有强制束缚：一个学生可以申请多个学校的EA，但只能申请一所ED。ED和EA可以共存，除非你申请REA。

因为ED像一张“卖身契约”，所以对申请者而言这是一个困难的决定。我的一位朋友，G同学就决定申请布朗大学的ED。在被很多学校的介绍会轰炸之后，她发现每个学校之间存在很多共同之处，例如夸耀多元化的背景、悠久的历史、出色的地理位置（不管是城市还是乡村）、强大的师资力量和出色的学生。这也是为什么布朗大学，一个与众不同、采取开放式选课的学校，吸引了G同学的眼球。然而事实上，提交完申请的她也在不断经受煎熬：尽管开始时她自认很有竞争力，但是当她发现自己11月的SAT并不尽如人意时，她认为ED希望渺茫并开始着手准备RD。

另一位朋友，X同学，是芝加哥大学的忠实粉丝；自然，她选择了芝加哥大学的EA。下决心看上去轻松，实则不然。芝加哥大学的EA不是绑定的，以及超过10000名申请者的严峻形势，使得它的竞争比哈佛大学更为激烈。或许选择另一个学校的ED是个保险的选择，然而会对进入芝加哥大学构成威胁这一点，使得X同学选择了加入芝加哥大学EA的激烈竞争中。在出结果的几天前，她不断纠结于自己是否能在10000名申请者中脱颖而出，成为芝加哥大学的宠儿。

早期申请的失意可以从正常申请中弥补，但是被推迟往往令人心情失落。我的一位同学被冠以“推迟之帝”。他所有的EA申请结果都被推迟，不得不让他怀疑自己的一番努力全部化为泡影。幸好他最喜欢的芝加哥大学是最晚一个公布结果的，这或多或少给了他一些信心，当然他也预料到会被推迟。

我的三位朋友都经历了艰难的抉择，对自己的决定无怨无悔，同时也抱有信心。可喜的是，他们足够幸运，因为他们都已经收到以“恭喜！”开头的录取信。