Does early decision help? Early action vs early decision

EEarly application plans at selective colleges, Stanford among them, differ less in their deadlines than in what they ask an applicant to promise, and that difference is what an admissions office weighs. Regular decision is the familiar route: apply around the start of January, hear back in spring. Early plans move that up, usually to a November deadline with an answer before the new year, and many families choose among them as if they were picking a date on the calendar. Choosing that way can mean giving up an advantage the student could have had, or making a promise the family is not ready to keep.