Questions with Regular Decision

I’m currently applying to AU Regular Decision. I would apply ED but my family and I are worried about the cost of AU, so we’re applying regular decision in case we can’t afford it (all depending on the aid I get). Currently I have a 4.15 GPA, and 28 on my ACT. I’ve gotten all A’s (except for 2 B’s in Honors Chemistry). I’ve taken 5 AP’s and multiple honors classes and I have a lot of extracurriculars (Drum Major of marching band, French Exchange, Volunteering, scientific research etc…). I hope to apply to the International Studies/Relations program. In all here are my questions:
1-Does anyone think I’ll still be able to get in when applying Regular Decision?
2 -Also when would I be notified of admissions if I applied RD? Is it rolling?
3-Do my chances of receiving aid go down when applying RD?
4-Am I doing the right thing in applying RD due to worries about potentially not being able to afford it when applying ED?
5- Would it be worth it to go into some debt to attend AU with a prestigious international program compares to a small private university elsewhere?

Thank you so much!

Have you run American’s net price calculator to get an estimate of what you will be expected to pay? That should be the same whether you apply ED or RD…note I am not sure whether it includes merit aid or not. https://www.american.edu/financialaid/net-price-calculator.cfm

Demonstrated interest is very important to American…have you been demonstrating interest? Things like visiting campus, attending the admissions officer session at your hs, attend one of the admission events/college fairs where they participate, reaching out to the AO with questions not readily answered on the website, interview, etc.

I visited American this summer and I’ve spoken to multiple representatives! Thank you for your advice, It means a lot!

If the debt is $30k or less, then yes, that would be worth the money. If you’re planning on taking more, then no. I’m not a big fan of early decision applications, because the school almost always turns into mismatch. With EA, you completely miss the most critical element of finding a college…shopping around to find out if it’s a good fit.

Also, as you mature in college, you find undiscovered passions. The average student will change their major at least twice before settling on something to study. You really want to make sure the school has flexibility to change majors, because you might find out you love engineering. I went into college wanting to be a doctor. I came out as a computer programmer.