<p>From what I've read, chances of admission don't really improve when applying ED to cmu. I'm really teetering on ED to cornell or cmu, so any advice would be appreciated. Also, my chances of getting into cornell are pretty slim but worth it if applying early to cmu doesn't really affect my chances of getting in.</p>
<p>Your question is not altogether clear. Please reword.</p>
<p>ED to Carnegie Mellon will increase your chances by quite a bit. Yes, it does have a positive effect. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>My question was whether applying early decision to Carnegie Mellon would improve my chances, and if so by how much. thanks collegeguy, I'm still thinking over my decision though</p>
<p>I don't think anyone knows. Which also probably applies to all schools. Can you think your way through to the why?</p>
<p>I know ED was a significant advantage to my S when he was accepted to SCS a few years back. The disadvantage was that he had second thoughts after being attending CMU and we had a bit of a rough time while he was deciding what he was going to do.</p>
<p>The common dataset, which lists the different admission statistics for the university, gives enough data for you to calculate what you need to make a comparison. You can google it at their website. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, the quick calculation I did shows that they accepted roughly 23% of ED applicants versus 28% of total applicants. If that's right, ED applicants were at a slight disadvantage at CMU last year.</p>
<p>I think the acceptance numbers vary by college. Also, I heard that if you apply ED, that it is very hard to get financial aid. If you apply regular decision, you have a little better chance of getting financial aid. However, I read that merit aid is hard to get at CMU. After having gone through the admissions process with my son, I don't like early decision unless you are 100% sure this is your first choice school no matter what.</p>