EA/ED vs Regular

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi! </p>

<p>I'm getting ready to apply to colleges soon enough so I was wondering, should I apply EA, ED, or RD for some of my top choice schools.</p>

<p>Right now my top choice is Columbia, my second is Cornell and my third is Notre Dame(if this helps at all). I've been taking practice tests for the SAT and been consistently scoring around a 2250 on the SAT. I'm in the top 5% of my class and my ECs are fine. Nothing I'd write home about but definitely there.</p>

<p>I've also done over 300 hours of community service and have held a job as a cashier since Freshman year with over 10 hours a week working. I've also done tutoring and babysitting with that. And in the summer before Junior year, I got a second job also with over 10 hours a week working.</p>

<p>I'm not going to really list all my ECs or stats as they're not 100% final yet. But enough rambling!</p>

<p>Would applying EA/ED be advantageous or detrimental to my admission chances at some of the top 20 schools? (Esp. Columbia, Cornell, Notre Dame)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Make sure you understand the colleges’ terms and conditions for their EA/ED. Binding or non-binding. Also, beware that the definition of EA or ED at one school may not be the same at others. They are not necessarily interchangeable between schools. If scholarship money is a factor if you attend a particular college, do not apply EA/ED if it is binding . You will not know about scholarship money until much later. I am not sure if there is a limit to the number of EA/ED schools you can apply too. Either way, you will be required to pull all your other applications once you receive the first EA/ED acceptance, if it was a binding EA/ED. The odds of getting accepted will vary.</p>

3

<p>It’s a question that a lot of people want to know, but from what I read, basically the admission rates of ED is usually higher for colleges, but that could be due to many reasons (stronger applicant pool, etc.). To me, I still think there’s an advantage, because a relatively large amount of spots for the class gets filled during ED. </p>

<p>I know this may not apply to you, but just know the drawbacks of ED. I did not apply ED because I knew that there was no chance we could afford any of the colleges without financial aid. Even though they claim their financial aid packages are the same for those applying ED vs regular, once you are accepted, it makes things difficult if you suddenly get a financial aid packet in March that does not meet all your needs.</p>

4

<p>If you need to compare FA packages I do not recommend you apply ED.</p>

5

<p>Understand that you can apply ED to only one college. If accepted you agree to attend and withdraw all other applications. Columbia and Cornell have only ED, Notre Dame has only EA. EA is non-binding and thus you can apply to other colleges. You must check each college’s rules. ED colleges generally allow you to apply EA elsewhere but a number of EA colleges do not allow you to apply ED to another college. Also, a handful have single choice EA which prohibit you from applying ED or EA elsewhere (but not RD). If getting scholarships and lots of financial is needed, it is often recommended that you avoid ED.</p>

<p>Colleges often assert that applying ED does not create any advantage, likewise EA. However, the statistics defy that claim as acceptance rates for ED are often significantly higher than RD and for EA mostly higher than RD and the difference cannot be explained away by just higher stat applicant pools, athletes, or legacy applicants . See for example: <a href=“Early Admissions Statistics 2013 - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com”>Early Admissions Statistics 2013 - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com;