<p>hkshah, if you were my kid I’d encourage you to go for it. In fact I did encourage my own kid to apply ED with a similar financial situation, and with a great result. Most of the kids my son knows who got into very competitive schools did it with ED applications.</p>
<p>When people say it’s a big risk, that may be for families with a certain income, but it’s not true for a kid from a family with low-50K income, no assets, and applying to a 100%-of-need-met school with no student loans. Let common sense guide your choices, not unfounded fear.</p>
<p>You may want to find out how Brown will assess the value in your parents’ home, but even if that generates a little higher EFC than you’d expect, since there are no other student loans in Brown’s financial aid awards you could always borrow a little to help your parents make up the difference. (I don’t think the value of the house will be a big issue, mind you, but just covering all scenarios here.) </p>
<p>If it’s your first choice school, I would definitely do an ED application given your particular circumstances… which is not to say it’s a good choice for someone else. Everyone’s circumstances are different and need individual consideration.</p>
<p>Definitely get those SATS scores up in the range you’re shooting for. ED can give an admissions boost, but for very competitive schools like Brown it only gives a boost (probably a slight one at that) to applicants that are in range of other admitted students.</p>