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<p>If you are sure Swarthmore is your top choice and…</p>
<p>If it makes sense financially and…</p>
<p>If you are a solid applicant…</p>
<p>Then, it is a decided advantage to apply early decision, whether you are legacy or not. To truly max out your position in the admissions game, applying early decision as a legacy is a good strategy.</p>
<p>But, again…those are three big “ifs” I outlined. I don’t want to encourage anyone to apply to Swarthmore early decision unless they have decided Swarthmore is the right school. I don’t want to encourage anyone to apply early decision if they need to comparison shop merit aid. And, I think it is a complete waste of effort (and admissions capital) to apply early decision to a school unless you are a credible, solid applicant to that school.</p>
<p>Thumbs up on visiting your brother by yourself. That’s really the way to get a sense of college life. Do another fall of senior year where you stay with first year students.</p>