<p>But that person is only bound to the other school if they get in. If Chicago is someone’s second choice, and they are applying to highly competitive school ED, there is a good chance that that person will ultimately choose Chicago. It’s not like the person knows they are going elsewhere and are applying to Chicago just for kicks.</p>
<p>I feel like if Chicago wants to make its early program mainly about conveying that it is your first choice, they should have restrictive early action. If not, I do not think that it is in any way dishonest for someone to apply early just to get an early answer since there is nothing that states that marking a first choice is the intention of EA.</p>
<p>I do see your point about wasting the admissions people’s time, but for the many kids who don’t get in ED it is not a waste. And nobody is taking someone else’s place. They take into account the number of kids who say no when deciding how many kids to accept.</p>