<p>If you apply early decision to a school, can you send out applications to other schools before, after, or on the same day as the early decision deadline? Obviously, I know you have to withdraw them if accepted.</p>
<p>Best advice: Read the ED agreement for the <em>particular</em> college very, very carefully before making the final decision to apply ED. Make sure you understand what (if any) restrictions there are concerning the submission of other applications. Make sure that your ability to <em>accept</em> the ED offer of admission does not depend (too heavily) on the college’s overall financial aid package or your landing a major competitive merit award from the college.</p>
<p>ED schools will prohibit you from applying ED anywhere else. Some may have additional restrictions on whether you can apply EA to other schools, but most do not have any particular restrictions on the number of places you apply to RD or on a rolling application basis. As you said, the ED school will require you to withdraw all applications (and any pending admission offers from other EA or rolling admission schools) if you are accepted ED. In other words, the ED school won’t let you accept an EA or rolling admission that’s offered to you before they make their decision <em>unless</em> you withdraw your application completely. Likewise, you obviously cannot apply to other schools <em>after</em> the ED school sends you a formal acceptance. If you’re deferred or rejected ED, then you’re free to apply to additional schools, including another ED school if you want to.</p>
<p>But it is best to check the specific rules for the <em>particular</em> school you want to use ED for <em>before</em> you check the ED box and send the application in.</p>
<p>Good advice.</p>
<p>It also depends upon when the ED decision date is relative to other RD or EA application dates, including dates to submit applications for merit aid consideration. Play by the rules, but protect yourself in the event of a deferral or denial.</p>
<p>“Make sure that your ability to <em>accept</em> the ED offer of admission does not depend (too heavily) on the college’s overall financial aid package or your landing a major competitive merit award from the college.”</p>
<p>From the Common Application ED agreement:
<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf</a></p>
<p>So if you’re not offered enough, you just say thanks but no thanks, and apply elsewhere RD.</p>
<p>But you should apply ED requesting FA only to your one dream school, and not care about comparing FA packages.</p>
<p>^^Please keep in mind that a college can “meet need” by throwing in a lot of loans that you may or may not want to be in the package. It’s also hard on students and their parents to be simultaneously trying to negotiate a FA package with the one ED school while at the same time regrouping to figure out where to apply.</p>
<p>In my opinion, unless you are absolutely sure the ED school is your first choice AND (in spite of the common app language) you and your parents are pretty sure that you won’t need massive amounts of need-based <em>grant</em> aid and/or competitive merit awards to make the school affordable, it is not likely in your best interest to apply ED.</p>
<p>Now applying ED to one of the incredibly selective top-notch schools that is also know to meet all students full need with little or no loans is a different kettle of fish. Even so, I’d strongly recommend talking with the financial aid office to find out as much as you can about how the school determines your need if it uses both the CSS Profile and the FAFSA.</p>
<p>The main point is that there is no danger of being trapped by an unacceptable FA offer. If you don’t like it, just decline it and move forward as if you never applied ED. You’re actually ahead, having done all the common Common App work way early, making applying RD easier at that point. :)</p>