<p>I have been wondering if i should rather go for ED or RD. I've heard that the pool for ED is much stronger because the people are much more confident, but statistically RD rates are much lower. I am going to apply next year so any input on this would be helpful.</p>
<p>If Penn is both a high target/low reach and The School you want to go to and you’re 100% sure you won’t have any regrets, apply ED. It also helps if cost isn’t a huge issue. (No matter what they say about Penn Financial Aid, there is a 1% who gets a bad dead <em>cough</em>me<em>cough</em>)</p>
<p>(That is to say, I still am paying 20k annually though my family’s income is barely 50k. Waiting for the appeal to get results…)</p>
<p>The people who get in RD do seem to have higher stats as well as better financial aid packages. If Penn is a good target for you, and you’re reasonably considering other Ivies like Yale, Princeton and Columbia, RD may be better. This is cuz it gives you wayy more options: schools that may pay you to go there (Johns Hopkins) for example, or the ability to haggle your financial aid more (eg. Hey Penn, Columbia’s giving me 40k <em>winkwinknudgenudge</em>). </p>
<p>Hope this helps. :]</p>
<p>Bluee. wow you really got me anxious and mega confused here. Im a candian permanent resident. So Penn is suppposed to be need blind to me. Per se if I want to apply ED or RD, it shouldnt affect my chances of admission right? as Penn is anyway need blind. IM VERY CONFUSED. please explain in which round I have a better chance (ED or RD) since I will be applying for substantial FA. Thanks</p>
<p>Eep just noticed a typo in my first post. ***Bad deal. </p>
<p>You are right, Penn is need blind to Canadians so how much FA you need should not effect your chances. (Says the website: Penn maintains a policy of need-blind admissions for citizens and permanent residents of the U.S., Canada and Mexico; financial need does not affect their admission decisions.)</p>
<p>I believe you will have a better chance in ED, because I’ve noticed that ED admits tend to have lower stats than RD admits (from my school anyway.) </p>
<p>My previous post was just a warning that applying ED means you have much less leverage in bargaining for FA. So you must really really love Penn more than any other school to apply ED. </p>
<p>IMPORTANT:
If you apply ED and don’t get enough FA, appeal IMMEDIATELY. Because they take ages and ages to re-evaluate. You would need to find their re-evaluation form online (can’t find it right now, I think they’ve taken it down or else I just suck at finding things) and fill it out. </p>
<p>Hope this helps :3</p>
<p>****Also note:
Applying ED doesn’t give you a huge boost. You still have to have statistics within the range of Penn. </p>
<p>From my school, which is a Specialized High School, so it’s significantly harder than other schools in New York:
Avg. GPA accepted: 96.26, Min GPA accepted: 95.17 (that was me…an ED applicant), Avg. SAT 2257, Min SAT: 2130, 69 applied, 7 were admitted. </p>
<p>I’d give you ED stats too but they won’t let me log in anymore…</p>
<p>Don’t forget extracurriculars! (Check the ED and RD results thread here on cc.)</p>
<p>So if you don’t feel like you’re in that range, apply RD so you have time first semester senior year to boost your stats.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>I just found something though D: You might want to call the financial aid office and ask because their website seems only to promise to meet 100% need for U.S. citizens and permanent residents…</p>
<p>I just sent them a mail like 5-6 months ago!!!</p>
<p>Call them up~ It’s faster. ^^</p>
<p>Someone said that the stats for ED admittees are lower than those of RD admittees. Just so you know - most legacies and recruited athletes apply early (at least at top schools). To be honest, I have no idea what percentage of those applicants are such special cases, but they may bring down the average because they make up for their lack of academic qualification with their special edge. Unfortunately for normal applicants, special cases take up many ED spots. For example, my GPA is a solid .5 point and my SAT I total score about 160 points below the stats of the average admittee from my high school, but because my stats and times are good ENOUGH for a heavyweight rower, and I expressed interest in ED I was invited on an official visit. If I get in I’ll definitely bring down the average, albeit an infinitesimal amount.</p>
<p>Legacies have a much higher admit rate as ED. However, as we were looking into this for my son, we found out that sports recruits are accepted MUCH earlier, generally January of Junior year, as compared to ED applicants.</p>
<p>I would say if you truly have Penn as your first choice, apply ED. It can only help you, especially if you are a legacy.</p>