<p>The nearly-impossible dream school?
a reach school?
a match school?
A safety school?</p>
<p>It should be your clear first choice school, and you should be willing to decide whether to matriculate without comparing its financial aid and scholarship offer to those of other schools.</p>
<p>If there is no school that fits the above criteria, do not apply anywhere early decision. (Applying to non-binding early action or rolling admissions schools is fine.)</p>
<p>As my daughter’s HS deans says…“if you have to ask where to apply ED then you probably should not apply ED anywhere”. ED should only be used if you have a clear cut favorite school that you are qualified for and which you want to attend above all others.</p>
<p>This post presents the dilemma experienced by so many international students who want substantial financial aid: Do you apply ED to the college of your choice(which you ought to according to everyone) or do you apply to a school where you have greater chances of getting in and getting the required aid/scholarship and thus fulfilling the dream to go study in the States? There are no guarantees either ways, since Colleges have a knack of finding out which applicant really loves the school enough to apply ED and which one is ‘faking it’. I would say never apply ED to college you don’t 100% know to be right for you. However, it might be prudent to apply EA to a lot of schools(although unwise to apply EA to ivies unless you know yourself to be a very strong candidate)</p>