Hi everyone,
As an uprising senior, I will be applying to colleges this coming fall. One of the colleges I am looking at applying ED is Brown University. I am a fair to middling student with slightly above average testing and GPA. However, after browsing around on this forum, I have read that most people suggest applying early decision only if your stats are high which mine are not. I have a 32 composite on the ACT(35E, 30M, 34R, 29S, 10W) and a 3.55 unweighted GPA/4.08 weighted. My freshman and sophomore year I struggled with a lot of issues including an eating disorder, a time consuming sport, and a lot of pressure. I plan on explaining my eating disorder for average grades freshman/sophomore year on my common app. However, I was wondering if my current cumulative GPA would negatively affect me in my application and if it would be better to just apply regular decision. Thank you!
In regards to Ivy League schools, you should aim for a 3.8 UW or above (preferrably 3.9+). I’m not sure how to put this, but if your personal issues DID impact your grades a lot (you failed classes, pulled out of school for a while, etc.) then this is a perfectly fine explanation, but the adcom won’t let your entire GPA slide. You have to understand that people who apply to great schools (and get in) have encountered great struggles (maybe much like yours) but still kept it separate from their academic lives and gotten almost perfect GPAs. I’m not saying you shouldn’t apply (after all, you miss all the shots you don’t take), but any Ivy League will be a large stretch for you.
@michelle426 Okay, thanks for your input! I know I did screw up my freshman/sophomore year. It wasn’t that I failed any classes, it was just I got more B’s than A’s. I honestly don’t know if it was personal issues that caused my grades, but ever since I stopped really “dealing” with the disorder and started to see a psychiatrist/cut out toxic elements in my junior year, my grades did improve and were on an upright trend. Thank you so much for your input and I definitely agree that it will be a bit of a stretch 
Yes, a 3.55 GPA will affect admission chances. Only apply ED if you can afford to go there.