<p>I have applied to the UW Madison for the first notification period. Madison is my top school, the problem is that I doubt I will get in. At my school we can see the students that have been accepted and denied to schools. At Madison, students in my school were denied and they had higher grades than me. I’m also considering applying early decision to Syracuse Univeristy which I have a greater chance of being accepted. Commiting to Syracuse would be great although I would be lying if I said its my top school. UW Madison is my top school and I’m afraid that if I happen to be accepted on early decision to Syracuse I might also be accepted to UW Madison and ill have to forfeit my attendance there. I don’t know if I should apply to Syracuse regular because the regular pool is much more difficult to get into. My question is would it be better to apply early decision syracuse and forfeit my right to attend Madison if I get in? Or should I apply regular decision to Syracuse and risk the possibility of not getting into either school? I know that applying early decision isn’t a guaranteed acceptance but my chances will greatly increase. </p>
<p>You definitely need one or two safeties. Then you can avoid this dilemma. It’s pointless to apply ED to any college if your stats are significantly below those of accepted students. Are you competitive for your top choice? Check out Naviance for your high school. Base your decision of if and where based on what you learn.</p>
<p>without your stats, we’re just guessing, although I can say that applying syracuse ED is probably not a good idea in any event.</p>
<p>It’s rather easy to get out of an early decision agreement, *if * you claim that the college did not offer you enough financial aid to attend (very common for Syracuse which only meets 39% of enrolled students need, and likely considerably less for admitted students), or your financial circumstances changed to the point that you now need FA even though you didn’t originally apply for it. </p>
<p>I believe some of the North Dakota schools essentially offer in state tuition to Wisconsin residents although I could be mistaken on this front. Regardless, University of North Dakota and/ or North Dakota State might be suitable safeties for a student who loves Wisconsin - Madison. </p>
<p>I was in a similar dilemma. I wanted to apply ED to University of Rochester since their ED acceptance rate is about a good 15% higher than their normal acceptance rate. However, affordability was (and still is) an issue, and there were also a bunch of other schools that I also really liked, like my state school (Michigan State) and others like Case Western, Purdue, and Beloit. Ultimately, I didn’t apply ED. Don’t close any doors for yourself. You may end up at Syracuse even without applying ED anyway. College apps are a game and you have to play them right to win. Applying ED to a school that isn’t your absolute first choice and probably isn’t affordable is not recommended.</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>