<p>Hi guys. I've decided that I'm going to apply to a school ED. My problem is, I will only get notified mid-December, and if in the worst case scenario, I get rejected/deferred from my ED school. The deadline for RD is January 1, leaving me half a month to get all that crap together, and it'll be the holiday season so there is NO chance I'll get all the teacher rec's out, etc.</p>
<p>I know I should just send out the apps for RD before I get notified, but I REALLY don't want to make all the application fees.</p>
<p>My plan is to apply for the ED school, then assemble all the crap I need for all my RD schools (fill out application, give out SSRs, give out teacher rec's and have them sent out, etc), but NOT pay the application fee for the RD schools.. Then 2 things could happen: I get accepted into my ED school and I won't pay for the RD apps because it's pointless, OR I get deferred/rejected mid-December and THEN I pay for the RD apps, which they would have already received.</p>
<p>Does this sound plausible, and is this allowed? Is there any other way I could bypass having to pay the RD application fees before I know my ED status?</p>
<p>It's an interesting loophole, but potentially risky, especially if your RD schools have rolling admissions.</p>
<p>This is what I am doing:</p>
<p>I filled out all the applications for schools I am applying. I'm sending my EA app out and any other applications that are due before Dec. 15. I still have my teachers send recomendations to my RD schools anyway. If I get rejected/deferred then I will send my apps out the next day.</p>
<p>If you do this, what will the RD colleges do with recs if they never receive the rest of the application? Couldn't you just tell your teacher to wait to mail the recs until after you tell them if you were accepted to the ED school?</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>I'm going to send EVERYTHING in, including initial apps, recs, SSRs, etc, just not the application fee.</p>
<p>I can't tell the teachers to mail out the recs after I get my ED decision because I'm paranoid they'll forget</p>
<p>Yes iismepeter, and if you are applying to a school with rolling admissions, your application will not be filed right away if you fail to include an application fee, hence, making your chances for admission not as good.</p>
<p>All the colleges I'm applying to have set admissions deadlines.</p>
<p>Will the colleges keep my application and recs and stuff on hand until they get my fee or will they just toss it all?</p>
<p>They won't toss it...just send you a letter or e-mail telling you that your application is incomplete and cannot be filed without a processed check.</p>