Another 2 Questions about ED

Applying to College
1

Hi everyone, I have 2 more questions about ED.

  1. If I apply ED and non restrictive EA (For example ED to Brown which allows EA at the same time and MIT) if the decisions come out at the same time and you get into both schools, what happens? The decisions for EA/ED come around mid December so they could potentially come out at the same or near the same time.
  2. Many of the school's websites claim that ED does not give a boost and that a person who would not be accepted during the regular round would not be accepted during the early round. Is it true that ED does not realistically give that much of a boost for the average joe (no legacy, not a recruited athlete) even with a 10-15% increase in acceptance rate when compared to Regular Decision?
2

  1. You would have to join Brown University.

  2. Applying ED is the best way to “demonstrate interest” and to show that you’re really interested in studying there. In addition, colleges don’t have to worry about yield rates during ED round. Thus, I’m sure it helps at least a little.

3

@maaz97 What if you back out for financial reasons?

4

I agree with comment #1

In regards to your last comment, if you are worried about finances then you should apply regular decision! You should only apply ED if you are 100% sure that’s where you want to go. Don’t think of it in terms of strategy, but as a way to show your commitment to Brown. I think you can back out for financial reasons if something sudden comes up (e.g. death of major earner in your family, dad/mom/ guardian fired from job). However, it seems like you already suspect that there will be financial issues (either that or you are trying to game to system and plan on making up an excuse at Brown if you are accepted to MIT, which would be frowned upon). Since you are already anticipating financial issues that could make a binding decision impossible, you should NOT apply ED to Brown.

If money is going to be a problem, don’t apply early to any schools with binding policies.

5

Brown and MIT were hypothetical examples as Brown is one of the few ED schools that also allows EA, but just wondering about it as many of my friends were planning on applying ED to a school and EA to others.

Thanks for the advice. I will not be applying anywhere ED.

6

1 - Your family assessed whether or not the FA offered is sufficient for the ED school. If not say thanks but no or ask for a relook. The EA still stands.

2 - Depends on the school. In many cases those applying ED are hooked (athletes or legacies) or stellar.

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@“Erin’s Dad” Ok thanks so much. For 2. it’s just that Columbia specifically states that ED is not an advantage but it’s hard to understand that when ED has a 10-15% boost in acceptance rate.
Gibby said the same for Harvard and Yale, even though SCEA has a 10% increase in admit rate. I understand the increase in hooked applicants, but 10% is an awful lot (especially seeing how Harvard has admitted more and more students from the early round).

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@rdeng2614, I think that ED provides an edge at most schools, even after you account for legacies, athletes, etc. Schools love ED because (1) applicants are taking extra initiative to indicate their interest, (2) it’s binding (barring financial aid issues), and (3) it boosts the school’s admissions yield/prestige. It’s gotten to the point where some schools (particularly LACs) admit over 50% of their class this way. UPenn falls into this bucket too (54%).

For other examples check out this link: https://www.college-kickstart.com/blog/item/early-decision-schools-that-double-admission-odds

Just make sure that you’re a competitive applicant, you’re 100% certain you’d attend if accepted, and affordability isn’t likely to be an issue. If so, then by all means apply ED, there’s little to lose and more to gain.

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@cbound I know that for a lot of schools that offer ED, it helps. But what about the schools that specifically state that they will not give an edge to students who apply ED.
Columbia specifically stated that they would not accept someone in the early round that they wouldn’t accept in the regular round. Does that mean applying ED is worthless then for an unhooked applicant?
I’m just using Columbia as an example to represent all the other schools who state that they don’t give a bonus for applying early (Harvard is also an example).

What I’m asking is: Is it worth applying ED if they specifically state that they don’t give a bonus (I’m assuming that’s the point of ED for unhooked applicants: a boost during the admissions process)?

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@rdeng2614, I don’t interpret the statement as extremely as you do. The way I interpret their statement, it’s saying that applying ED never makes a weak applicant stronger. So if you’re not a competitive applicant, applying ED isn’t going to help you at all. But if you are, they state that a higher rate of the ED applicant pool is admitted than RD pool.

https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/ask/faq/question/2393

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@cbound88 Ok thanks. Yeah your interpretation of their statement sounds more correct than mine.