<p>@ Chitown: if you have a decently strong application and can get it done on time, I’d suggest applying EA. You find out more quickly, plus I believe quite a number of people get deferred to RD, so unless you’re outright not good for the school and are likely to be rejected, the worst that will happen is that you’ll have to continue waiting until late March. I applied EA and was fortunately accepted right there in December for 2013, so I have some experience with EA at Chicago.</p>