-UCLA
-CMC
-Bowdoin
-Pomona
-Vanderbilt
-Northwestern
-WUSTL
-William and Mary
I’m trying to decide which school to apply ED. I know UCLA doesn’t do ED so if I decide on that, I won’t apply to any ED.
You should only apply to a school ED if you’re 100% it’s somewhere you would love going, you’re 100% sure you can afford it (because getting out of an ED commitment for financial reasons is a pain in the butt), and you’re 100% sure you won’t regret it if you’re accepted.
We don’t know anything about you. Do you prefer a specific region? Do you like larger universities or LACs more? Are you likely to be accepted to any or all of these schools?
There are very different schools so it would help if you could indicate how they all made your short list and what your priorities are, beyond interested majors (which I got from your other post as philosophy, creative writing and theater). Some of these schools are in totally different regions, are very different in population, some are rural, suburban and urban, some are LAC’s with undergrad focus only, some are full research universities, etc.
The only thing they have in common is they are all really great schools. I went to UCLA long ago and loved it. My S is starting at Bowdoin. And we loved W&M on our tours and visits. My wife, who I met at UCLA, had Pomona and Northwestern on the short list of accepted schools she was picking between (lucky me she picked UCLA).
Nobody should answer this but you. They are all excellent schools but they are very different. I suggest you only apply ED if 1) you have a definitive top school and 2) you have no need to compare financial offers.
If you don’t have a clear first choice, it may be advantageous to apply regular decision and then compare the offers. Then you may have some leverage or bargaining power with financial aid. UCLA and William & Mary are both public institutions, so if you are out of state, they may provide a limited amount of financial aid. Also if you are wondering about the answer to this question, it may help to do more research on the colleges in question, or at least make a visit. Is there any particular qualifications you are going off of?