For some seniors, the anticipation of college decisions is finally coming to an end as many early decision results are released on Thursday. Early decision applicants are bound to attend the college they apply to if accepted, and make the commitment when they apply.

“I applied early decision because I feel it is the best option for someone who is passionate about a specific school,” senior Amish Bhatnagar said. “The school I applied early decision to was a school which I have been passionate about forever.”

While many students choose to apply to college early, only some choose to go the route of early decision. For senior Sherry Hu, early decision was the only option available for applying early.

“Some schools only offer early decision,” Hu said. “So for example, most public schools offer early action and then most private schools offer only early decision.”

Many students make the choice between early action and early decision, considering whether or not they are ready to commit to one school. Compared to early decision, where acceptance is binding, early action applicants receive an early response to their application but are not bound to attend if accepted.

“I feel like applying early gives you a better chance and it also gives you the decision earlier so you can start making final decisions about where to live and stuff like that,” senior Olivia Birge said. “I’m still uncommitted, so I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, and I chose early action. I think that’s just a lot of pressure with the decision, but early action, it still gives you the option to be non-committal.”

Whether students apply early decision or early action, the application leads to an accelerated timeline, which some students, such as Hu, appreciate.

“For early decisions you figure out like mid-December, so the rest of the year would kind of be a breeze,” Hu said. “I didn’t have to keep writing my regular decision, like college essays and so I could just take it easy from there.”