Brown or Yale?

What school should I apply ED to? (I have 1450 SAT, 3.8 unweighted, pretty good extracurriculars, national merit scholarship qualifier (and Hispanic Recognition Program), and fortunate enough to have family who can pay a good amount) I am very split on the decision because I do not know my chances to get into either one and do not want to regret anything (Another candidate is Duke)

Yale doesn’t have ED, only SCEA. It makes a big difference.

Does it not help as much as ED?

ED provides more of a “bump” in admissions.as compared to EA because of the binding nature of the agreement. Be sure to read the details of each admission plan carefully. All if the schools you mentioned must be considered to be a reach for any unhooked applicant (even if you apply somewhere ED).

@ethanbthan2139 - Your SAT score puts you below the 25th percentile for Yale, and below the 50th percentile at Brown, which isn’t a strong hand to play, unless you are a first generation applicant, an applicant who is also an underrepresented minority, a recruited athlete, or have some great or unusual talent that will make life better for the Yale community. Brown and Yale are very different schools, beginning with their curriculums: Brown has an “open curriculum,” while Yale has distributional requirements. Brown has an ED option. Yale has an SCEA option. Brown is like “a shining city on a hill.” Yale has gorgeous american gothic architecture, a residential college system, and great arts programs, as well as academics. Best of luck!

You said your parents can pay a “good amount.” Is that the roughly 70k/year full price? If not, have you run the Net Price Calculator with your parents’ income to determine whether the amount of financial aid likely will make up the difference? Don’t guess. If it’s not going to be affordable, there’s no point applying at all.

If your parents want to compare financial offers from different schools then don’t apply anywhere ED.

Between Yale, Brown or Duke probably worth asking which one you liked the most, why, and have you visited all 3?

You are contemplating a binding decision. Pretend the decision is yours given all three schools are extremely and comparably competitive. They are very different schools so you can’t be indifferent.

Yale SCEA is not binding if you get in, but it does limit your ability to apply early to other schools.

To add to the posts above,

If you apply ED at Brown/Duke → You may apply EA to other schools except those that don’t permit this (i.e. Georgetown and Notre Dame).

If you apply SCEA at Yale → You may not apply EA to any other private school. You may apply EA to public schools, most of which notify in January or later (after Yale SCEA decisions).

If you’re admitted ED at Brown/Duke → You are obligated to attend, and you must withdraw EA/rolling applications.

If you’re admitted SCEA at Yale → You are not obligated to attend.

If you’re deferred ED at Brown/Duke → You are free to attend another EA or RD college that admits you.