<p>People tell me to apply to one of my top tier schools EA/ED to move them from a reach to a low reach. Why is this the case? It's still the same admissions process, why would the time I apply make a difference?</p>
<p>I’m not convinced EA makes that much difference. ED does increase your chances because it’s binding - if you are accepted, and you accept the financial offer, then most schools will require you to withdraw all your other applications. So they know they’ve got you, and at a set $$ amount. There’s no waiting for you to compare all your financial offers and pick the best school. It really favors those kids who are in a financial positions where they don’t NEED to compare offers - they know they’ll go to their top choice if they get in (either they can afford it, or they’re not worried about tons of loans when they graduate).</p>
<p>^ And to add on to it, since ED is binding, it helps to attract students that REALLY want to go to that college. If you apply ED, then the schools knows that it is your number one choice, and isn’t being used as a safety or as an alternative option, which helps to boost their yield.</p>
<p>But as said, it should only be used if you KNOW that you will get sufficient financial aid from them.</p>
<p>I definitely can’t apply ED because financial aid is something i really need and im gonna need to compare. I was considering EA but it means I have to work faster nd im just trying to figure out if its worth it</p>
<p>I have a question. Is it worth it to apply ED or EA? I had seniors telling me last year that unless you did something like invent a new medicine it was not worth it because they would not accept you. I realize they were probably exaggerating, but is it worth it? My dream school is UCSD if that means anything to the answer.</p>
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<p>EA - yes, because you have nothing to lose.
ED - assuming it’s your first-choice school and you can pay for it, there’s no reason not to. You can still apply to plenty of other schools RD.</p>
<p>I recently visited Virginia Tech and they were talking about early action. Apparently it does increase your chances of getting in because not many people apply early action. So you’re facing less competition. But if I had the option of EA/ED, I’d apply ED. Unfortunately VT doesn’t offer ED…</p>
<p>It doesn’t? I thought it did.</p>
<p>Big reasons I think ED and even EA help:</p>
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<li><p>you potentially beat out other strong applicants from your own school. in most cases, schools don’t want to admit a ton of applicants from one school, so this way you might be able to get there before your competitors. </p></li>
<li><p>when you apply ED/EA, schools have an empty class and therefore more space. when you apply RD, there are already a good portion of slots taken AND way more applicants. of course this only can hurt your odds.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@IWillKillForMIT, VT doesn’t offer the non-binding one. I forget which one is which. My bad.</p>
<p>It shows how your passionate about the school and how its your first choice, but at the end of the day if you’re not that schools material they won’t choose you just because you applied early decision. Check out the college you want to apply to websites. Some will say applying EA/ED increases your chances and others will say it doesn’t matter.</p>
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<p>The question is based on an assumption that is not necessarily supported by fact.</p>
<p>The issue is very much open to debate, conjecture and opinion.</p>
<p>We generally agree that ED increases your acceptance chances at most schools (likely not so much at ultra-selective schools) at least a little; schools love applicants who love the school.</p>
<p>“ED - assuming it’s your first-choice school and you can pay for it, there’s no reason not to.”</p>
<p>Use the school’s Net Price Calculator to see if there’s little chance you can pay for it, so you don’t waste your application fee. If the NPC says it’s close, but then the financial aid offer ends up not being enough, you can decline the offer and apply RD elsewhere.</p>
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<p>Not to start an online argument … but “we” who?</p>
<p>People who have followed the issue for years and hear what people report and what schools say. But don’t expect mathematical proof! :)</p>
<p>Post #5:</p>
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<p>UCSD doesn’t have ED or EA.</p>
<p>My opinion: ED shows interest, and the school doesn’t have to worry about yield
EA: just shows interest, probably doesn’t increase your chances</p>
<p>If you want to know if applying ED can help your chances at a given school, google the school’s Common Data Set, Section C7. If “Level of applicants interest” shows anything other than “Not Considered” then applying ED may help your chances.</p>
<p>@SoCalDad2: well thank you for that information, but I also realize that I will have to apply to other schools. Some of these schools may have EA/ED.</p>
<p>Question: say a school offers non-binding EA but <em>not</em> ED. Would applying EA increase your chances then?</p>