So I honestly don’t have a clear first choice school right now, and there’s multiple places I’d be happy to end up at (including matches). That being said, would it be stupid not to ED anywhere this year? I’ve heard schools may fill more slots than ever with early decision so is it a big mistake to not ED??
Like I guess what I’m saying is I still want a chance at some of my reaches obviously so would it be dumb to not ED anywhere or should I honestly just RD if I dont have a clear first choice.
Do you care at all about what university is going to cost you? Do you have any budget restrictions, or are you going to take on any debt to pay for university?
One issue with ED is that it makes it impossible to compare financial / scholarship offers from multiple universities before deciding where you are going to attend. Another issue is that you have already decided where to go (if you get in) when you apply. This means that you do not have more time to decide.
Both daughters visited several universities after having the acceptance offers in hand. This has an advantage that you know that you really can be there next September if you just decide on it (particularly when the offer is affordable). It feels very real.
If you apply EA or RD or rolling admissions you will need to decide by May 1. This gives some time to visit schools assuming that the pandemic does not stop you from traveling.
I am not a fan of ED unless you have a clear first choice and expect (based on the NPC or based on being able to be full pay) that you will be able to afford it.
yeah that’s what I’ve gathered- that the only good reason to apply ED is if you have one clear first choice and I dont really have one anymore, so I think I will stick with my decision to not apply ED 
thank you!
If that’s your position, why not apply ED to a reach school?
Or an EA so it’s not binding?
This is all assuming that your essays are well written in time. I wouldn’t rush to submit an application that you aren’t proud of as that would be counter productive.
the only school on my list that has EA is Georgetown and their acceptance rate is lower EA LOL. so I’m just going to give myself more time to polish my app so I can put my best foot forward and maybe apply somewhere ED2
Non-binding early decisions are nice because you might know that you’re at least admitted somewhere. Worst case, you are deferred to RD anyway. As long as you can put together a quality application
Binding admissions where you don’t have a clear favorite wouldn’t make sense to me.
You need to do what makes sense for you. If you don’t have a definitive top choice that appears affordable then it is best to not apply anywhere ED. FWIW my S’s top choice college only had EA so he did not ED anywhere – he applied EA/rolling to a few schools. My D did have a top choice and ED was a big advantage so she went that route. Things worked out fine for both kids.
If you need to compare financial offers after acceptance than one should steer clear of ED.
Looking at it from the perspective of the PROGRAM at a school…if one school has an amazing program/major that you would absolutely love to be a part of then that is worth going ED for, if of course, you do not need financial aid to play a part in the final decision.
Not all Business Programs are alike. Not all campus recruiting is the same, where do you want to work one day? If you want to be in NYC, the best path is a school on the east coast as midwestern schools tend to first recruit regionally and then there are extra layers to get to the recruiters in the metro areas on the coast. So, point being, drill down and rank programs at the schools so when your acceptances come in, you start to place schools in a ranking order that fits with your goals.
We have no idea what visiting schools after acceptance will even look like for this current class of seniors. There is so much unknown and we all need to reframe our expectations and not think things will play out like they have in application seasons past.
Applying SCEA/REA is the way I am going, if you are afraid of the commitment of ED but want the advantage of more slots. I think EDing shows a stronger interest in a school though