Brown Cornell or Bucknell!? EARLY DECISION

Applying to College
1

<p>So since these are my reach schools, Its in my best interest to apply early decision to one of them, (better chance to get in). I just don't know which one! I like all of these schools, and have researched their equestrian teams, (which I would join). I will be majoring in biomedical engineering, on a premed track. They are all great schools and I'm stuck. One problem is that I wont be able to visit them before applying. I always planned on visiting the schools after I was accepted, and go from there. But since I am thinking of applying early decision, I wont be able to.</p>

<p>Thoughts? Or any helpful tips?
I'm new here and this is my first post btw:)</p>

<p>Thank you!!!</p>

2

<p>ED should be/tends to be used by those who are definitely locked in on a school. They know absolutely it’s their #1 or #2 choice, and want the advantage ED brings.</p>

<p>IMHO, I think you have way too many unknowns to use ED. It’s cases like yours that can lead to ED regrets.</p>

3

<p>lizzi I agree with MrMom. If you haven’t even visited the campuses, I’m not sure you can know that you would definitely want to go to any of these schools, even though they are as you say “all great schools”. They may not be “all great schools” for YOU. ED is only for those who know for sure what their #1 school is, and also know that if they were accepted into every other school on their list, they would choose #1 and not look back. It can lead to a greater chance at admission but that alone is not enough to do ED in my opinion.</p>

4

<p>I will give you an example of D’s ED situation, so you can see what it took. (I will not name the schools.)</p>

<p>Schools for ED1 and ED2 are absolutely D’s top picks. They are nearly identical, very selective for nearly anyone, but D has a very good shot at both. Kids from her school have been accepted to both with her stats, some with even lower stats. ED2 school is a little more of a sure thing. ED1 school has always been near the top of her list, bouncing off occasionally, but it’s stayed there for a good 6 months, especially after we convinced her that a school she loved she’d have very little chance of getting in, as there is no advantage to ED there and her stats are just a little low. (She’ll take a flyer on RD, just to say she did, if we get to the RD round.)</p>

<p>ED2 was a late entry, but only because we’d never seen it until the last college tour. It was always paper possibility. She’d be very happy there. The thing that distinguish ED1 and ED2 are a.) ED1 offers a slightly more interesting surrounding area, and b.) If she reversed the order, she’d always wonder about the other school. If she is rejected ED1, she has no problem submitting to ED2 and going there. The only dilemma will be if the gets deferred. That is very unlikely in her case, as there’s nothing left to prove in her academic record, so she’s likely in or out. (In other words, ED1 deferral is the nightmare scenario.)</p>

<p>No other schools other than these two are “perfect” in her eyes. Any other school would be a compromise in one way or another, but she will learn to live with that if she has to go there. Cost is not an issue, and unless some rare merit aid shows up from the RD schools, will not factor, as it’s practically non-existent. We’ve visited ED1 several times, done the interviews at both, looked into the surrounding areas, talked with alumni, etc. </p>

<p>In short, I can’t think of anything we didn’t do. We’ve tried to find flaws or reasons not to go to these schools, and we can’t. They’ve passed the stress test. That’s what you should do to pick ED schools. Or at least that’s what we did.</p>

5

<p>These schools are VERY different in terms of size, location, student body, vibe etc. No way you should guess at which one to ED at if you have not visited them.
We have visited all three and my son applied to them all, but they are very different from each other!</p>