I have a little bit of a dilemma, because MIT is my #1, but since any school at that level is so hard to get into I was thinking of applying to Brown early decision (which is my #2) to increase my chances there. But, I would totally kick myself if i got into MIT and had to turn them down. I’m just not sure exactly what to do, because of course I would much rather get into Brown than get into neither, but i really really want to go to MIT. Anyone have any insight?
Apply to MIT, there is no ED advantage at Brown for students who are not legacies or recruited athletes.
And that’s not even accounting for the fact that the ED pool is generally stronger since these are the students who do not need senior fall on their record.
Don’t apply ED to a school if you could have regrets down the road. If MIT is your top choice applying ED to Brown would not be a good move IMO. Both schools are long-shots for pretty much everyone anyway so be sure to have a good mix of reaches, targets, and safetys that you could be happy attending.
For the sake of argument, if you get your decision from MIT to accept before the Brown ED results, is it considered kosher/ethical to withdraw your Brown application at the last second? I always wondered about that.
@spayurpets Sure – as long as no decision has been made on a pending Brown ED app, I don’t see why a student is bound to its completion/rendering of a decision. I wouldn’t recommend this as a strategy, however.