<p>Suppose you have College A, who offers ED as follows:
Application due November 1, decision made December 15.</p>
<p>And then you have College B, who offers ED I in the same schedule as College A,
and also offers ED II as follows:
Application due January 1, decision made February 1.</p>
<p>College A is the student's first choice and College B is second.</p>
<p>Student may also be doing some EA and RD applications, but fully understands the binding nature of ED and would fully intend to withdraw any other apps outstanding at the time of an acceptance under an ED program. No trophy-hunting intended.</p>
<p>Student's goal is to get all apps completed by early December in anticipation of being gone over the holidays for several weeks with a time-consuming school-related EC.</p>
<p>Can student apply by November 1 to the ED I school AND apply before mid-December to the ED II school, clearly marking / indicating that the second app is for the ED II round? (The app specifically enables the student to specify whether it's ED I, ED II or RD.)</p>
<p>Or does student have to physically wait til mid-December, til an ED rejection is in from College A in order to push the submit button for College B? </p>
<p>Is it considered a violation of the ED agreement to apply to another school's ED program that doesn't open up til AFTER the first school's ED selection is made?</p>
<p>Most of the rules I have seen, when they have been specific, would permit a student to make an ED II application before December 15, so long as it was understood that the student would withdraw it upon [whatever happens after an ED I acceptance to finalize the commitment to enroll at ED I college].</p>
<p>Would the student be doing the EC when he/she receives the ED I decision? Is that the conundrum? If so, could the student have everything ready on the ED II app before 12/15 and have a trusted family member push “send” if necessary?</p>
<p>I would think that would be easier than withdrawing the ED II upon ED I acceptance.</p>
<p>An e-mail with all of the colleges in the blind cc section accomplishes the same thing as having the app ready to send. If the ED I acceptance comes, push send once on the e-mail withdrawing from the EA and ED II applications. Use return recipt on your e-mail and you’ll know it’s been received and/or opened depending on what e-mail program you use.</p>
<p>I think you are overthinking this, Pizzagirl. There is nothing wrong with applying to as many schools as you want as long as A) there is only one that is ED I; and B) you withdraw all other apps if the ED I comes through. In the scenario above, since it states the ED II (College B) won’t start considering until Jan 1, there is plenty of time to withdraw the app if College A ED I comes through. You have lived up to your part of the bargain by clearly marking College B app ED II. That makes it no different in principle than applying RD to safety schools during the wait time for College A, which is also permissable.</p>
<p>These schools make it ridiculous to worry people like this. The spirit of the agreement is that you are telling College A that you will absolutely go there if accepted (and of course if you can then afford it based on FA awards if needed). They have no right to otherwise keep people from applying anywhere they want, although granted it would be an ethical violation to apply to other schools ED I. After all, many people have no idea if their ED I school will indeed meet their financial needs, and since often this isn’t known until well after the deadlines for applications to other schools, one has to make other applications. Why should a student be penalized from indicating high interest in College B by applying ED II? No reason at all.</p>
<p>^ … I agree with the last two. My oldest had completed 90% of her applications when she heard back from her ED school … they were done just not sent … there were unmailed envelopes on her desk and “draft” applications on some sites … one other school had been formally submitted because the logistics required it. Finish the materials but hold off the formal submission of the applications … saves some bucks and some work if the ED applications come through.</p>
<p>We thought about doing something like this. In the end, DS decided college A was his first choice and when he was deferred from EA, he would rather wait and find out whether he got in RD to college A rather than give up altogether and move onto college B.</p>
<p>a bigger conundrum arises when the schools are rolling ED up to Feb 1st or so (like Muhlenberg, Lafayette)…if an answer is not guaranteed by a certain date, you could have issues with other schools that have EDII as well on your list…unusual, but it does exist…</p>
<p>pizzagirl: if one does want to get all the apps “out”…your scenario does make sense</p>
<p>Thanks all. Of course I’m overthinking this – I’m on CC. Gah.</p>
<p>To my way of thinking, the cost of extra applications that then might have to be withdrawn seems trivial compared to the peace of mind of getting them out and then, if the ED I rejection occurs, knowing that everything’s all in play and nothing more needs to be done. But I’m the antithesis of the just-in-time type of gal. </p>
<p>Thanks all! You’ve confirmed that there is no ethical or oops-you-might-be-dinged-for-it issue, which is what I was looking for.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I’m reading the question correctly, but I don’t think you should send in an application marked ED 2 while an ED1 application is pending. The ED2 app will require the student (and possibly parent and guidance counselor) to sign an ED agreement saying that the student agrees to attend the ED2 school if accepted, and that’s not something that the student can agree to until the result of ED1 is known. I think the way this would typically be handled is to send in the ED1 app, send in the ED 2 school as an RD app if you prefer getting all the apps in while ED1 is pending, and then switch that RD app to ED 2 if turned down by the ED1 school. Kids do this pretty frequently - you can call, email, etc the RD school and ask to switch the app to ED2 and send in the ED2 supplemental agreement at that point.</p>
<p>Oh, heavens. Of course you can send them all in the way you described. This whole supernatural force other people sometimes attach to ED apps gets flat-out silly. You obviously understand the rules and the intent of the rules, and you obviously intend to comform with those rules.</p>
<p>My only issue --just personally-- would be not wanting to spend the extra app fees if I didn’t have to, but if that seems like a reasonable trade-off to you for getting them all out early, then there is absolutely no problem with that. Who would even be checking such a thing before a single admissions decision has been made, anyway? Do it however it makes sense for you.</p>
<p>jrpar - you would be right if they didn’t withdraw the application upon getting a positive reply from ED I. But since there is time to do that, there is nothing wrong with getting an application in rather than waiting and having everything be a rush.</p>
<p>It is all just silly with ED I, ED II, EA, SCEA, RD, rolling admissions…I know adcoms have a tough job trying to guess how many will accept offers of admission and all, but they shouldn’t be making the customer feel like a criminal for trying to shop around and maximize their chances of getting the product they desire.</p>
<p>As a bit of an aside, I wonder if a college has ever taken anyone to court over not fulfilling an ED pledge. It just sounds ridiculous on its face.</p>
<p>Another option is to apply to School No. 2 RD. Then if the ED I news at School No. 1 is not good, your child can contact the admissions office at School No. 2 and ask them to convert his RD application into an ED II application. People do this frequently.</p>
<p>But I’m with those who say save the application fee, and wait till the ED I school speaks before pulling the trigger on the application to School No. 2.</p>
<p>I was reading this thread and nodding and remembering S1’s experience with EDI and EDII, and then it hit me: You’re asking about what to do next December. It’s currently only January 16!! Yes, you are overthinking.</p>
<p>wjb - that completely ignores the fact that the OP already said having them done and submitted was worth more to her than the $$. People shouldn’t have to be so restricted in their choice of how to apply and how many to apply to. Like so many things in life, if one has the money and doesn’t mind spending it to gain something of value, then that is their choice.</p>
<p>The rules of ED are clear: you can only have ONE application for binding Early Decision at the same time. Applying to two ED programs simiultaneously might --and should-- result in the elimination of both applications. </p>
<p>If the issue is one of simple logistics, there are plenty of solutions including arranging for the delivery of an application by a certain date or submitting an application that is only considered completed by a date that FOLLOWS the notification of the ED school. </p>
<p>Considering that schools that have a process of EDII might start reviewing the application as soon as submitted, it is not correct to submit before the ED cycle is concluded.</p>
<p>And, fwiw, unless the GC accepts to violate the ED rules, the scenario of being able to apply to two ED programs in early December should NOT even be possible.</p>
<p>As usual, it benefits to check with each school individually after reading the Common Application ED agreement:</p>
<p>Early Decision (ED) is the application process in which students make a commitment to a first-choice institution where, if admitted, they definitely will enroll. While pursuing admission under an Early Decision plan, students may apply to other institutions, but may have only one Early Decision application pending at any time.</p>
<p>fallenchemist, I do not think you can have two pending ED applications at the same time. As wjb posted and I suggested in my post above, it would be OK to submit an RD app to the ED2 school, and then change the RD to ED2 if turned down at the ED1 school. </p>
<p>I understand submitting the RD apps while an ED1 app is pending - both my sons did this at the encouragement of their high school counselor [their school encourages all apps to be done by Dec 1], and it would have made life much easier if they had been turned down at their ED schools. You could of course submit everything but not pay the RD fees until you get the ED news …</p>
<p>xiggi, I just read your post and I agree with you.</p>
<p>It just seems stupid to apply RD to the second place with the intent to convert to ED II should the results of ED I not be favorable. Doesn’t that look bad / odd / weird? “I wasn’t sure I liked you, but I guess I like you now?” Or is sending that message no big deal whatsoever? </p>
<p>Again, I’m overthinking, but if I want to do best by ED II school, it would seem to me that “I always came to you as an ED II student” is preferable to “I had you as RD, and then I decided to love you more.”</p>