<p>Hi there! I'm currently wondering which school I should apply to EA/ED/RD (especially Ivies and other top-tier places). If you have insider knowledge, please let me know. I'd love to get first hand accounts of the schools' situations; some things in reality are just so different from the website.</p>
<p>I'm looking for:</p>
<p>Urban setting, anywhere from 2000ish undgrads to 5,000ish
City: somewhere near a big place like NY or LA (2 hour drive or less)
Chill (competitive, but overall healthy; not too uptight) environment
Good traditional university vibe + good safety
Good party scene :p
Good drama/theater extracurriculars or minors
Not a lot of drugs (from 1 to 10, drug use is less than 5)</p>
<p>If you don’t even know what schools are at your top at this point (I’m assuming you’re a rising senior?) then you shouldn’t apply ED. You should only apply ED if you’re 100% in love with a school and would easily make the decision to go there above other schools, since the decision is binding. If you’re going to go with ED, just make sure you really understand what you’re getting into.</p>
<p>Agree with the above poster. I know someone who was accepted ED to a school they originally wanted to attend, and incredibly prestigious for the field he wanted to go into, but later decided he did not feel safe in the neighborhood. Because of a technicality he was able to decline the ED, but he got lucky. I know someone else who did not follow through with his ED agreement and it came back to bite him.</p>
<p>ED is a HUGE decision, something that has to come from you, not suggestions on an internet forum.</p>