I was just looking at all the policies of the schools I plan on applying to and I got confused while reading about Cornell's.
Somewhere in the Ivy League Agreement (that all the Ivies have), it says that if I apply ED to Cornell, I can't apply Early to other schools. Does this only apply to other Ivies (since it's written under the Ivy Agreement) or does it apply to any school?
I plan on applying ED for Cornell and EA for UChicago. UChicago doesn't seem to have a problem with applying Early to other schools but I'm afraid Cornell might. Another problem is Georgetown, which tells me that I cannot apply ED for any school. So does this mean Georgetown's policy conflicts with Cornell's?
Thanks! I'm getting so confused by these policies.
No, if you apply ED you cannot apply EA or ED anywhere else. Also, ED is binding. EA is not. EA single choice is common at many ivies and further restricts you to not applying EA or ED to any other school. MIT is EA NOT single choice. So, you can apply there EA and also to Caltech or another school with a similar policy.
As for Cornell: "Early decision is binding. If you’re admitted to Cornell, you are required to withdraw any applications you’ve sent to other schools and send your enrollment deposit to Cornell by early January."
I ended up asking some friends that did ED for Cornell, and they seemed to agree with what I found online (so I don't know where the other two posters are getting their data from - unless the policy changed recently, which is always possible). From what I read though, you can ED Cornell and at the same time EA to any other school - granted that school does not have a restrictive EA policy (HYP & Georgetown do have restrictive EA policies). However, if you do get in both your ED and EA school (in your case Cornell and Chicago) - you will have to enroll in Cornell - since ED is binding. Although, you can get out the agreement if you have financial issues, but that's another story.
My son did ED Cornell. Our understanding (and pretty much everything I have read) is that you can apply to your state flagship at the same time but no place else in the early rounds. If you want an absolute answer, call or email admissions. I know that there are kids who ignore all the rules and apply to many schools during the ED/EA rounds without regard for the single choice requirements. I would not recommend doing that. It can end badly. When in doubt, check with Cornell.
Thank you for all your responses. CC really is a good supportive site, even if it does make me feel bad about myself every single time I come on here.
Back to the question. I decided to take Georgetown off my list because Naviance is telling me that they require an interview, and I don't want things more complicated than they already are. Now that their restrictive EA policy no longer bothers me, I'm still trying to decide what the deal is with Cornell.
I definitely plan on Cornell and UChicago. Perhaps UPenn as well. Your answers, though helpful, are still a bit divisive about whether or not ED Cornell and EA UChicago can be together. I think I'll follow mlbrown's advice and just directly email admissions.
Another question, sorry, can I apply to more than 3 schools EA? My previous understanding was that you could only apply to, at most, 3 schools EA. But Saugus says that I could mass-EA to schools. And he listed more than 3. Could I do that? I always thought 3 was the limit.
Yeah I second the emailing admissions - often times school guidance counselors aren't even sure on specifics regarding a school and can give you inaccurate information.
Although I did not apply to Georgetown myself and know little of the school - I think it is a poor decision to rule out a school simply because an interview is required. Most schools I did apply to had an interview component to the application, and although it wasn't mandatory it was certainly recommended. Although, it can seem stressful, in hindsight it was a great experience.
There is no 3 school cap on EA - assuming the EA isn't restrictive. So yes you can EA to 4, 5 or even more schools as you see fit. My friend did EA to at least 4 or 5 schools. But then again I remember him saying how he got in EA both for UChicago and Georgetown, and I just learned from your thread that Georgetown is EA restrictive...So I am skeptical to how these policies are followed/ enforced. But for what it matters he decided to go to neither school due to financial reasons.
You CAN apply to Cornell ED/Chicago EA, but why? You're VERY unlikely to be admitted to Chicago and denied at Cornell (Cornell ED acceptance rate is 33%, Chicago EA is 17%), so it would be a wasted app. Not to mention that if you got into both, you'd have to go to the lower-ranked school.
As far as my friend was concerned I found out Georgetown was restrictive to only other ED's you can EA Georgetown and EA other schools as well.
On topic: I don't know where phuriku is getting his numbers from. " It [Chicago] is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 18.8 percent and an early acceptance rate of 28.4 percent."
Cornell's ED rate is still higher, but that doesn't say anything. ED is binding, whereas EA is not. So people that will ED Cornell probably have a good idea of what they want to do, and may even be more qualified and hence likely to get in. As far as which school is 'better' it is nonsensical to discuss - it depends what you are looking for in a school.
You can apply anywhere you want at the same time you apply to Cornell ED; the only exception is that you can't apply under any other school's SCEA or ED programs.
If you're admitted to Cornell, then you have to withdraw your applications from all other schools by mid-January.
For some reason, Cornell doesn't come right out and say that you can apply elsewhere EA (as long as it's not single-choice), but you can. Their official regulations are here, under #1 Basic Requirements: http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/...n-requirements
