This may be a dumb question, but I was wondering: if I’m applying ED (binding) at one school, am I able to apply EA at others? I mean, I can always withdraw my application later from the EA schools, right?
<p>With a few exceptions:</p>
<p>SCEA schools - (Stanford, Harvard, Yale) -- obviously not.</p>
<p>One other exception:</p>
<p>Georgetown prevents you from doing it.</p>
<p>For Columbia, it's not recommended, but they don't prevent you from doing so. I know several people who did ED Columbia and EA UChicago last year, and it didn't seem to hurt their prospects at Columbia.</p>
<p>I thought ED was a binding contract. If you've applied ED to a school, you're GOING to that school if accepted and you can't apply EA elsewhere. Oh well...</p>
<p>Well you can always withdraw your application. The bottom line is that what really bothers colleges is when they accept you ED and you then apply somewhere else. A slightly different scenario: I know somebody who was accepted to Rutgers in October because Rutgers has a rolling schedule, and then got into Lafayette ED II. She simply matriculated at Lafayette, as per the ED agreement, and it was no big deal.</p>
<p>Well, that's why you can't do two EDs but are allowed to have ED and EA, because if you are accepted at both places you can always just go to your ED school and withdraw from the EA school, which is perfectly legal.</p>
<p>right, thanks!</p>
<p>For the most part schools that have EA allow you to apply EA or ED elsewhere. You, of course, cannot apply ED to two schools. There are exceptions to those rules -- Stanford, Yale and Harvard have single choice EA and if you apply EA to any one of those you are prohibited from applying ED or EA elsewhere. Georgetown has an EA limitation in that if you apply EA there you are prohibited from applying ED anywhere else but not EA. You should note that this is a changing environment and many schools with EA may soon change (possibly for 2006 applicants) to rules like they have at Georgetown or at Stanford/Yale/Harvard.</p>
<p>If you apply ED and are accepted, you must go there; moreover, any school that finds out you are breaking your word will reject you/</p>