There some risks that many students are not aware of even when almost everyone will tell you that applying early is critical.
The advantage you get from applying early will be lost if your application isn’t looking as good as it can. That is why in some cases, it will be obvious that a student needed to spend a little more time polishing up his or her application.
Some students unknowingly limit their choices by applying early. This is especially the case at schools with Early Decision policies. Early Decision means that you are only allowed to apply to that one school. Applications are usually due sometime in November and a response will come before the end of the year. Early Decision applications are at the top of the stack, but if you’re not absolutely certain that this school is your first choice, you shouldn’t seek an Early Decision. Many admissions departments will share their list of Early Decision applicants with other schools to ensure that students aren’t applying to multiple schools.
However, some schools have an Early Action admissions policy. This is similar to Early Decision, but allows the student to apply to multiple schools at once. This policy is more rare and it offers the student a number of advantages. You could apply to multiple Early Action schools, receive acceptance letters in December, and still wait until the spring to make a final decision. But as always, there are other deadlines like scholarships or financial aids that you may be missing in the meantime.
As with every part of the process, it is important that you completely understand how each school’s admissions policy works. Even Early Decision and Early Action policies vary from school to school.