College Early Options

THAT is the conundrum of ED. If you have a clear favorite school, it’s wonderful. You give yourself a bit of a boost in acceptance by locking it in early. Also saved you the trouble snd expense of going through the full admissions gauntlet.

Your problem is that your favorite school is Yale. But your chances are still very very low in getting accepted there even early. Your chances are better applying ED to Penn or to Duke. The only one who can decide what to do is you because there are trade offs in risks. You know the situation. There is no best answer to this.

Some kids I well knew who were top drawer prospects, were deferred from their early applications which really made for bleak holidays and a long nerve wracking 4 months. One did get into his first choice school after the deferral and was rejected from his next to the top choices RD. One of the schools was Penn where he lost his legacy hook by applying RD there. That hurt. The other was deferred EA and rejected during the regular cycle. Also rejected from his second choice school RD But he did have other excellent choices. His second choice school was also so selective that it was really a lottery ticket even early,

The solution hinges greatly on how you feel, your emotional state in terms of possible outcomes.