<p>pye-</p>
<p>As others have already stated so well, it depends on the school. You can research the school to see what % of the class they have historically taken via ED...and where the stats of those students fall when compared to RD applicants. </p>
<p>I don't support using ED as an admission strategy when the applicant is weaker, UNLESS the applicant is 100% sure of the choice. It's too much of a committment to simply use to gain a leg up, even when the leg up is clearly evident. </p>
<p>As Donemom stated, some kids really want to be "done" with the process before winter break. </p>
<p>Know your child's personality. Some kids are the sort to make quick, easy, wonderful decisions....and never look back. You'll find that these kids follow this path in other areas of their lives, as well. Start to pay attention to behaviors and look for signs of decisiveness, or a lack of it. </p>
<p>We have seen lots of buyers remorse from kids who feel that "undershot" their potential with ED. So, give extra thought to your child later wondering about "what if's" later on. Suppose your child gets into an ED school at which she felt like she had a good shot, but her friend, with lower stats and GPA, gets into a more selective school via ED. Your D might sulk about shooting too low. But, the same can happen in the RD round. </p>
<p>I do think ED is a leg up in most cases. What school wouldn't look a little more favorably on a student who is committed to attending, if accepted (see other thread on Yield). This might be especially true with Ivies and top LACs, where students tend to "blanket apply"....i.e. applying to ALL of the schools, regardless of fit (this is what I call the "throw it all against the wall and see what sticks" approach). In that case, the RD round is especially competitive. </p>
<p>You have the HYP kids who also apply to Penn, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, MIT, Cornell, Amherst, Williams and anywhere else they would be willing to go. But, remember, they have the stats for HYP. Your D, who might have Columbia stats, but not H stats (there's little difference, but the line is clear). Suddenly your D is applying to Columbia, but competing with a bunch of kids with H stats. The ED round keeps her away from this issue.</p>