abdelgadoo

I'm very interested in these schools and plan on applying ED to one of them but I don't know exactly which one's the one with most chances to get in and also to get financial aid.
If anyone has any information about it or is an international student from those schools, I would love to get some advice and help with this decision.
I'm mexican, took a gap year and I'm working as an english teacher, I'm going to take my sat again and would like to know more about everything.
Thank you!

happymomof1

If you need aid, do not apply anywhere ED. Wait until the RD round, so that you can compare the aid packages.

Sombre

I actually made a thread on that subject before. Another poster responded with a similar post, but here's something I overlooked:

While comparing aid packages is not something that should be overlooked, what if the boost from applying ED is what could make or break the deal for one? It could be that one is on that fine line between being admitted or rejected...

Why not go ED, if it's a school one would love to attend and in case one's need is not met (i.e, it's a package that would make things impossible), one can still decline the offer and apply elsewhere in the RD round.

People often argue that applying early does not really affect one's chances. I think that while this may well be true at some of the most selective colleges (Yale explicitly states that a student who got in early would have gotten in RD; that is not to say that I am not skeptical about that statement, but I'll leave it at that) and those colleges that defer (or ask them to apply RD) international applicants requiring aid, it's likely different at most liberal arts colleges.

Quite a few claim to meet the full need of international applicants, and it would appear to me that some CC members have used this strategy in the past, and it seems to have worked for them. Granted, applying RD for an opportunity to compare aid packages is sound advice, but it looks like apply ED may well give one a leg up in the admissions process. Small LAC + much fewer applicants ED...why would one's odds of getting in be any less?

I don't know how reliable this source is, but a 77% (this number will be much lower for international students?) acceptance rate out of a pool of 442 (!) applicants, is surely better than competing with another 5220, no? Among those 5220, it's likely that there's gonna be more international applicants.

Gettysburg College Admissions Information - CollegeData College Profile

According to this, 43% of the class applied ED. I reckon that this includes admitted students who were deferred.

Gettysburg College - Class Profile & Statistics

Note: Pretty tired right now. My apologies if I sound funny...

Petrogradian

I think there are a couple of different questions here, because these schools are different. I would encourage you to look more closely at the schools to see which offers what is important to you. Each is geographically distinct, and each will have different programs. For example, if you are looking for programs in education you may find very different offerings.

Regarding the application process, the Early Decision phase is the time when colleges help their overall acceptance percentages (and therefore perceived competitiveness), because every qualified student they accept ED is a "secure" filled position in the incoming class, allowing the school to be more selective in the Regular Decision process in the Spring. So, if you think one of these schools is a particularly good fit, I would encourage applying ED. The school's financial aid budget should also have flexibility in it during the ED round, whereas later in the process there may not be much money left, even for applicants the school would like to accept.

abdelgadoo

Thanks so much for your reply! I had considered that before, which is why I decided to apply ED somewhere, I just don't know which one to choose! they're similar and their psychology program (the program I'm most interested in) is very similar, so that makes things harder.
If you have any other advice, I would deeply appreciate to get it.
Thanks again!

abdelgadoo

I ended up applying to Gettysburg ED.. I feel very anxious, if anyone has useful information I would appreciate it.. thanks!