This year’s college application cycle is shaping up to be the busiest YULA Boys Division has seen in a while. Twenty-two out of 48 Boys Division seniors applied via the Early Action or Early Decision programs to 19 different universities, while just seven of the 34 seniors last year applied early to schools. On an international scale, the number of college applications has increased by 11% to over 6,000,000 in 2021, making this year’s admissions the most competitive ever.

Students who apply early compete with a smaller applicant pool, which increases their admission chances, and enjoy receiving their admissions decisions earlier. However, those accepted via Early Decision are legally bound to attend that school, meaning they can only apply to one school via the program.

Those who apply Early Action aren’t bound to the same requirement. The most popular early application schools among YULA boys this year are the Binghamton campus of New York State University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Michigan. They accept 44%, 9%, and 25% of applicants, respectively.

Since such a small pool of applicants are admitted to their top choice universities, students mix and match schools based on admissions difficulty to ensure themselves a spot somewhere. The average YULA student applied to multiple self-described “safety” schools – those with more generous acceptance rates – via Early Action, while reserving their top “reach” school for Early Decision. Many YULA students have also applied to several Regular Decision schools this month.