<p>Would it be a disadvantage to apply to Bowdoin regular instead of ED? Bowdoin is my top school, but I am (still!) unsure as to whether I am willing to be bound to any one college at this point, and the deadline is fast approaching!</p>
<p>bowdoin has an ED II option.</p>
<p>Yes, you would be wise to go ED if you think Bowdoin is a clear first choice for you. RD is getting increasingly competitive at Bowdoin and everywhere else too.</p>
<p>If your choice is between a few similar schools and you don’t have a preference- say between Bowdoin, Wiliams and Middlebury- they are each competitive enough (and similar enough) that you still might want to go ED at one of them. The exercise of thinking that through might help you figure out what you most want.</p>
<p>The idea that if you don’t have a preference, you should just wait and go ED is fine as long as the schools to which you are applying are not the hypercompetitive ones- say the top 25 in the two main US News lists. Those schools are now getting so difficult that ED can provide a real boost to one’s chances and should be considered regardless, even though its a disturbing trend.</p>
<p>ED1 would probably be better than ED2.</p>