I'd never heard of the Early Decision program; I just looked it up on Wikipedia. I enlisted early in my senior year, so wasn't exposed to college application options.

It was only in my mid-30s, after being fired with the statement, "Your job's not to think, it's to do what you're told!" that I enrolled in Indiana University, eventually graduating with a Computer Science BS and a Business Administration minor. So, while being fired was a traumatic experience (even though I really disliked that job), it turned out to be a significant positive turning point in my life.