So I have been thinking about ED II to Wesleyan after I visited it a week ago. I feel that I will be very happy there and have a better chance of getting ED II due to the fact that my gpa (3.75) and Test scores- ACT 30 (I know it is test optional but still ) are on the low side for Wesleyan. There is also the question of financial aid as ED admits tend to get worst finacial aid than RD admits and also I want to keep my options open. Will my chances of being admitted be any different from ED II to RD? What should I do?
schools dont admit kids for ED (I or II) that they wouldnt admit RD, so…in my opinion, it would not be worth it to do EDII to Wes for an earlier decision when compared to RD. I suggest RD so that you can have more options with financial aid. financial aid is also the same for both rounds; dont let that be a deciding factor for you
Is Wesleyan your clear first choice out of your remaining schools, without needing to compare financial aid offers?
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=205 says that level of applicant’s interest is not considered at Wesleyan, so that brings up the question of whether applying ED actually makes a difference, other than possibly finding out earlier.
I did it
You have to be absolute sure that Wesleyan is your first choice if you want to apply ED II. With any type of Early Decision, the acceptance rate is higher however it is a self selected applicant pool so it would be far more competitive. In terms of financial aid, it is very difficult to reverse a binding agreement due to financial reasons. You have to show many documents and demonstratively prove that you have financial hardship.
They say though on the web site and on the tour that ED shows interest in the school, and gives you an a advantage (45% acceptance rate vs 21% acceptance rate and 50% of the class comes from Early decision) so that is why I am confused.
It is not necessarily the case that applying ED means worse financial aid than RD. At the school were S applied ED, we asked specifically and were told that the policy was to offer the same package irrespective of ED or RD. What you won’t be able to do is negotiate - some schools will match the offer of a peer institution if FA is the only difference between the two schools and an improved FA offer would guarantee your acceptance. The usual process there is that you are asked to mail in the offer from the other school as proof - once they get it, the adjustment is sometimes made.
In general don’t ED unless 1) you are certain you want to attend that one school above all others and 2) you have no need to compare financial/merit offers.