Help, I've Messed Up ED

Applying to College
1

Hello,

So, in a nutshell, in a fit of impulsiveness, I applied Early Decision to Rice and then realized that I did not want to do this and that I want to apply to all schools Regular Decision. I realized I wanted to pull out of Early Decision a day after I applied (and at the time of writing this, Rice is still accepting Early Decision applications). Yes, I am aware of how stupid I am.

Anyways, I wondered if, having not been accepted yet, there would still be time to pull out of Early Decision, so I called Rice and they said that they’d need my request in writing and now to email them. The woman on the telephone didn’t seem to think it would be a huge issue, but she emphasized that she isn’t an admissions officer. Anyways, I sent them an email, but now I’m freaking out.

I’m okay with not getting into Rice; rather, I’m concerned that either I’m going to be forced into the ED pool for Rice (though I doubt they’d accept me after this fiasco) or worse, I’m going to be blacklisted and I won’t be able to get into ANY decent schools. To what extent have I ruined my life? Thanks.

2

It’s not uncommon for applicants to request to switch ED applications to the regular pool. As long as you have a record of the email request you should be fine. A response from the school acknowledging it would be even better. No worries.

3

Thank you so much for the reassurance.

4

Agree that you should contact the school ASAP and ask that your application be moved to RD. A also think you should talk to your guidance counselor today and let him/her know.

5

As other have said, this is not uncommon. There aren’t negative consequences to this. After all, Rice wants to admit you in a manner that you can accept – not to burden you if you can’t accept that burden. They’d rather offer that ED slot to someone else and hope to grab you during RD rather than encumber both parties to something unworkable.

6

It’s all good now. Thanks, guys!