<p>Both my 1st choice and 2nd choices for college are very selective schools. My first choice, however, does not offer ED, so I'm thinking of applying ED to my 2nd choice, who believes that ED applicants deserve special attention, according to its site (ED applicants to it have 2x accept rate). I want to avoid the worst scenario, which is not getting into either of them. I don't mind going to my 2nd choice since I like it very much, but I like my 1st choice better (obviously), so I am not sure what to do. </p>
<p>What would you do in my situation? Risk a lower chance to get accepted into either of them by not applying ED to second choice or risk being bound to 2nd choice without knowing whether you got in your first choice?</p>
<p>Please, please give me advice and opinions. =(</p>
<p>Would not apply ED to second choice school. It may increase your chance of admission but if your first choice school is not a super reach, then why settle for second choice at best? ED admissions statistics can be misleading. Although the acceptance rate may appear higher, the quality of the applicant pool often is stronger and the benefit of ED is overstated.</p>
<p>I think you should apply ED. I’ll assume you’re not clearly under-qualified to attend either school and that you would not be rejected from the ED school, so you would be either admitted or deferred.</p>
<p>If you’re admitted, you’ve gotten yourself into a great school and you should be proud of that. Sure, there will always be a lingering curiosity about how your application would have fared at the RD school. But if these are both top-level schools, you’ll get a great (and similar) education at either one. And if you’re deferred, then you’re back at square one. You’re not bound to any university and you have a pending RD application at both schools. Problem solved.</p>
<p>How selective is first-choice school? I mean, are you talking about HYPS? What are your stats like? HYPS are reaches for everyone, but if you’re not a super-outstanding candidate or have some other special quality that might give you a boost, then personally I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to apply ED with better odds to an equally excellent college. Is financial aid an issue? If so, that raises other more complicated questions.</p>
<p>Differing opinions. x_x This isn’t helping.</p>
<p>They’re not HYPS, but they are fairly selective (20-25% admit rate). They’re reaches for me, but I still have a chance to get into them, unlike HYPS.</p>
<p>Find reasons to make your 2nd choice school your first choice school, and then apply ED to it. Surely there are some reasons to favor your current second choice school.</p>
<p>@ripemanga: They’re very close in selectivity. I <3 mangoes btw. I eat them everyday.</p>
<p>@above 2 posters: thanks for the reply.</p>
<p>My first choice school is my first choice because it is one of the few non-HYPS schools that is ranked extremely high in the 2 topics I plan to major in (top 5 in both I believe). My 2nd choice is also ranked high in these topics, but not as high as my 1st choice. It is better in all other areas (location, environment, overall rank, class size, etc.), however. My method for choosing my top school is looking at its rank on the topics I want to major in, while factoring in whether it’s realistic or not for me to get in.</p>
<p>Your latest post reconfirms my earlier opinion. If your 2nd choice school scores highly with you in the factors you deem important (“location, environment, overall rank, class size, etc.”), and is nearly as high in your other category (ranked extremely high in the 2 topics I plan to major in), then it’s probably strategically wise to use the ED advantage there in order to increase your odds of attending one of your top two choices.</p>
<p>If you get in ED, you’ll be happy and have no regrets. If you don’t, you can still apply RD to the other school, plus some safeties. Of course, if you’re accepted ED, you can forget about safeties and any other apps at all.</p>
<p>Just change the nomanclature - refer to your “second choice” as your first choice. If you get in ED, you will have to withdraw your RD application to you new second choice (old “first choice”), so you will never know if you would have gotten in.</p>
<p>OK I guess I can do that. 1: Berkeley; 2: Cornell. My currently expected majors: Astronomy and Government. I think Berkeley is ranked higher in both.</p>
<p>Unless you’re instate for Berkeley, just apply ED to Cornell. Berkeley is not worth it out of state, is not as nice to its undergrads as Cornell, and Cornell will most definitely give you better FA if you’re out of state. I see absolutely no reason not to apply ED to Cornell unless there is something a lot bigger than rankings drawing you to Berkeley. Cornell def gives the better undergrad education in my opinion.</p>
<p>Since Berkeley is instate, then <em>cost</em> may be a serious factor. Have you talked to your parents about the cost of attending Cornell? Have you and your parents run through a financial aid estimator like the one at [EFC</a> Calculator: How Much Money for College Will You Be Expected to Contribute?](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp]EFC”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp) in order to get an estimate of your EFC? Can your parents afford your EFC? Are they willing to pay at least as much as your EFC in order for you to attend Cornell? These are all questions that you need answers to before you decide to apply ED to Cornell.</p>