Williams ED vs MIT

[MirandaKnight]

In the scenario that the poster got rejected from both, there would be regret to have not possibly increased their chances by EDing at Williams.

However, what if the poster actually got accepted at both and had ED’ed at Williams so now must turn down MIT? That actually seems like the dilemma holding the poster back. If Williams was such a clear preference, the poster wouldn’t be asking about EDing to Williams but it’s the possibility of getting into MIT and having to turn the school down that prompted the post in the first place. Personally, I do not like ED for this reason among others. It pressures students into making a firm commitment when it would be to their benefit to see what options are available to them and at what price. In my view, EDing is giving the students the short end of the stick for a boost of some sort in admissions.

In this case, I would suggest the opposite. Do not ED because if you do, you might always regret not being able to compare the choices. As someone else suggested, there may not even be an ED bump for an unhooked candidate so why remove one’s choices because if you actually got into MIT and then got into Williams during regular decision, you can compare the two schools and visit both during their campus preview weekend. If you got into neither, you may regret not having EDed to Williams but you will actually not be sure that if you had, the outcome would have been different and at least you gave yourself the possibility of having options which EDing to Williams might take away. Another thing to consider is that between now and May, another school might come into focus that provides good merit or you find out more about the program and actually prefer it such as a school from the list @dad9000 provided which you would consider in the spring but which may not even be an opportunity for you to explore if you ED to Williams.

[2labs]

I tend to agree. From a strategy perspective, IF ED gave a big bump at Williams, that would be something to consider, but for an unhooked unrecruited athlete, if we take the Admissions office at its word, there isn’t a big bump for applying ED. THus, if the OP applied regular to Williams there might be two offers to compare. If, by going through this exercise, one school is a clear favorite, than by all means consider ED,but if not, I see no benefit (other than possibly wrapping up college searching in December - but that also closes doors). Two great schools, yes, with different emphases, but I imagine some really good STEM students could be happy at both! Good luck OP!

[NiceUnparticularMan]

My two cents is the simple way is often the best way.

Forget strategizing. Are you sure you would pick Williams over MIT (and any other college)? Then you can apply binding to Williams. If you are not, then I would not advise applying binding to Williams.

And you can rationally feel either way. But I really think you should go with that simple decision tree.

As for regret if you apply to Williams RD and don’t get into either Williams or MIT . . . .

First, if you don’t get into Williams RD, it is very unlikely moving your application to their ED cycle would have made any difference.

Second, the best solution to this hypothetical is not to force an ED application to Williams, it is to realize if in fact you were ever competitive for MIT or Williams in the first place, you are also competitive at a bunch of other great places for Physics, including other LACs, other research universities, and so on.

And trust me, if you end up at, say, Haverford or Rochester or whatever for undergrad, and you still love Physics, and in fact remain good at Physics at that level, you will have a great undergrad experience and be set up for grad programs.

So seriously, the stakes here in terms of whether you do or do not get into Williams specifically are not high enough to warrant binding yourself to them without being sure you want to do that.

But of course if you are sure, that is fine too.