What if I Get Waitlisted w/ ED?

Hi! I applied to Rice’s binded ED and I’m wondering what will happen if I get waitlisted.

If I’m waitlisted, can I say no to the waitlist and accept another school’s offer? If so, how long do I have to say yes or no to the waitlist?

Or, am I stuck waiting to see if they’ll accept me?

Thanks!

If you are not accepted or rejected in the ED round, you are deferred to the RD round. In the RD round, the outcomes are accept, reject or wl. If you are offered and choose to accept a WL spot, you will accept a place at another school and pay a deposit. If you get in off the WL, you tell the school where you accepted that you are going elsewhere and lose your deposit. WL activity may continue through the summer!

So if you are deferred in the ED round at Rice (wl isn’t an option at this point), you can simply apply everywhere else RD. Alternatively, you can make one of those apps ED2 with the understanding that if the ED2 school accepts you, you will withdraw all RD apps (including the one at Rice.)

I’m pretty sure you can’t get waitlisted ED… only accepted, rejected, or deferred. If you get deferred, you’re considered as an RD applicant and can apply elsewhere. (You can also get waitlisted after being deferred.)