Is early decision worth it? Forum

[lisjjen]

I have a 161/3.45 and am a URM. Georgetown has always been my dream school. I love their programs, I love their location, I love everything about them. I'm not lying when I say I would rather go to GULC than to Harvard. I know early decision gives you a tiny bump, but as much as I want to go to GULC, I'll take whatever I can get.

Here's where things get tricky. I have to be realistic. I have already gotten fee waivers from U of Minnesota and William and Mary, both excellent schools. I'm guessing this would suggest more will be on the way. As much as I adore GTown, they have only sent me an invite and no waiver, which I'm guessing means they're only mildly looking at me. If I barely squeezed into GULC and had to pay $200,000 in loans, I can't decide if that would be better than going to another school like W and M that might actually give me a little bit of money.

Thoughts?

[bk1]

Fee waivers mean nothing. Schools merely send them out to increase the number of applicants who apply so they can increase their selectivity.

[kaydish21]

Please, please, please, do not put any stock into fee waivers. They are often sent by schools to boost the number of people applying which makes their acceptance ratio improve and the school *becomes* more selective. Since selectivity accounts for 2.5% of their US NEWS score, schools have an incentive to use this practice for pragmatic reasons. Search UVA fee waiver on this site for a taste of it.

Also fee waivers are usually based on LSAT score, and for an URM who often have unpredictable cycles, is not indicative of a schools level of interest.

[vespertiliovir]

Only you can decide how important going to Georgetown is. I personally would be wary of paying sticker, but that's just me.

And yea, fee waivers ≠ admission.

[northwood]

apply to as many schools as you want. Fee waivers, like others have said mean nothing. If you want to go to G town, apply there. If you are worried about early decision, and being forced to pay sticker, then dont apply e.d. Apply to as many schools as you realistically would attend ( and graduate at median or below) in the regions where you want to work.

[lisjjen]

You mean an invite doesn't mean a lock on admissions?




But seriously. I know it's super easy to read too much into an invite. At the same time, if they were trying to boost their numbers, why not send out fee waivers to everyone in the USA? That's called gaming and if the good folks at USNWR are idiots, then why do we take so much stock in their ratings? Like U of M Ann Arbor says, they accept 1/7ths of the normal applicant pool and about 1/2 of everyone they invite. Again, a 50-50 shot is definitely not a lock.

This is all besides the point as I was stuck in this quandary before I got any invites, waiver, or anything else.

[Knock]

You mean an invite doesn't mean a lock on admissions?




But seriously. I know it's super easy to read too much into an invite. At the same time, if they were trying to boost their numbers, why not send out fee waivers to everyone in the USA? That's called gaming and if the good folks at USNWR are idiots, then why do we take so much stock in their ratings? Like U of M Ann Arbor says, they accept 1/7ths of the normal applicant pool and about 1/2 of everyone they invite. Again, a 50-50 shot is definitely not a lock.

This is all besides the point as I was stuck in this quandary before I got any invites, waiver, or anything else.

They still have to read your application if you apply. Giving out too many fee waivers would mean schools would have to just toss applications in the trash bin, which they probably do anyways, but it makes it too obvious.

[Stupendous_Man]

If I barely squeezed into GULC and had to pay $200,000 in loans, I can't decide if that would be better than going to another school like W and M that might actually give me a little bit of money.

There's your answer, no ED.

Anecdotally, I applied ED to a school that was a target for me, to give myself a bump. Not really even a reach. I was denied, but admitted to schools ranked directly below it. I had to conclude that ED didn't really help me at all, and in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get in off ED because I got generous scholarships at other schools I've found that I'm just as excited about attending.

Do yourself a favor, and if you aren't 100% no-matter-what on a school, don't ED. Think of ED as just a way to find out early if you got into that school in exchange for your prior commitment, and not a bump in your chances.

[lisjjen]

I still really want to go to GULC, but I've been convinced that there are simply too many good schools out there to apply ED to any one of them.

Perhaps I'll just tell them in my "why GTown" essay that I came inches from applying ED.

[bk1]

With your numbers, your chances at GULC and the rest of the T14 are slim. If you really want GULC and wouldn't mind paying sticker at that versus a small scholly at a lower school, I would ED if I were you.