<p>Can you apply to both schools? On the Common App, there is a section indicating that you can apply ED to one school and still be considered for an alternate school as an RD candidate - or at least that's what I understood from it.</p>
<p>You can be deferred, yes. I also know of cases where people were rejected from the school they applied to, such as Stern, but accepted into a different one. Usually though the school they get into is LSP</p>