<p>I took the November SAT and don't have my recommendations done yet so I can't really apply early, but I hear a lot of people are and its kind of scaring me. Is anyone else applying regular decision everywhere? And does anyone know if there would be any advantage to send my regular decision applications this month?</p>
<p>I don’t think applying EA/ED is as common as people on here make it seem. A lot of us have been obsessed with college for several years…we were the ones who rushed to fill out the Common App when it first came out on August 1 and stuff like that. 
Most people apply RD. I don’t think there’s a benefit to sending your RD applications early unless the school has rolling admissions.</p>
<p>I am not applying ED or EA anywhere. The only school I would be interested in applying early to only actually has ED and I can’t bind to it because its 1) extremely expensive and 2) lousy with financial aid. I know that you can supposedly get out of the agreement if you prove that you weren’t provided sufficient aid but I feel like colleges know tons of loop holes.</p>
<p>I also really wanted a super strong Fall semester to give my GPA and class rank an edge. This is the first year I’m taking Dual Enrollment courses and they weight twice as heavy as AP classes but they only kick in come second quarter, which is well after the ED deadline but slightly before the RD deadline. This semester can push me from the top 2-3% to the top 1% easily. </p>
<p>Everyone and their mother at my school applied EA to Northeastern University, lol. Our school only sends like 5 kids to NEU, and I have a feeling they aren’t always Asian girls from the EA pool.</p>
<p>“I know that you can supposedly get out of the agreement if you prove that you weren’t provided sufficient aid but I feel like colleges know tons of loop holes.”</p>
<p>You don’t have to prove anything; you just say no thanks. No school will force you to attend (they can’t), nor do they want anyone who doesn’t want to be there.</p>
<p>If you DON’T ask for financial aid and back out of ED there can be consequences.</p>
<p>But I’ve heard colleges can blacklist you if they suspect you tried to game the system by applying ED somewhere and then backing out?</p>
<p>That can reportedly happen when NOT asking for FA. When asking for FA, schools have no choice but to believe you when you say it’s not enough; the formulas don’t cover all cases.</p>
<p>For the common app at least, you can 100% back out of ED and claim insufficient aid. </p>
<p>Schools not on the common app all have separate policies.</p>
<p>Nope. I’m taking the SAT next month, and then SAT Math II in January, so there’s no point.</p>
<p>Just the idea of a binding decision makes me nervous…I need the freedom to make a choice. I applied two places early action.</p>
<p>ED is for those who ALREADY have a number one first choice above all others. When applying ED asking for financial aid, the only question should be: Can I afford it?</p>
<p>I am applying regular decision everywhere - not only because I do not have the time to finish the application in time, but I also need to compare financial aid offers, so it is smarter for me to wait… although I worry a bit that applying later might reduce my chances of getting in, considering that I need aid</p>
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<p>EA is nonbinding. (Well, almost always…there are like three exceptions.)</p>