Early decision increasing chances? Y/n?

Started by samurai361
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samurai361

samurai361

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I have read conflicting opinions and I was hoping someone here might have a clearer answer. My state school offers early decision and I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do...I've read on here that some people loved the decision and some people regretted it. I know you shouldn't if you're not sure if you're set on the school, but what if you don't really care what school you attend, would this be a good option then or no?
 
samurai361 said:
I have read conflicting opinions and I was hoping someone here might have a clearer answer. My state school offers early decision and I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do...I've read on here that some people loved the decision and some people regretted it. I know you shouldn't if you're not sure if you're set on the school, but what if you don't really care what school you attend, would this be a good option then or no?
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The only reason Early Decision sucks is you can ONLY apply to that school. If for some reason you find out you didn't get in there, then you can apply to others. SO you are correct, if you aren't 100% set on one specific school, don't do it.
 
Early decision is great if you know where you want to go. You get to find out if you've been accepted in late Oct. as opposed to finding out in feb/march etc at most places. I say go for it.
 
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If you don't really care what school you attend, then I would personally apply to as many schools as I can to increase my chances of getting into one rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. Also, fyi, schools are allowed to cancel their early decision process at any time (which happened to me) and I only had several weeks until normal application deadline to figure out what to do. So if you don't care where, then I say apply to as many as you can to increase your chances.
 
Thanks guys it's just that I thought if I'm instate and applied ED to my state school it might help me get in more, so I guess that's what I was wondering, if it does (kinda like undergrad ED) or not.
 
Is early decision based on an honor system or do you have to have sign a contract waiving your right to apply to other schools?
 
bozeefus said:
Is early decision based on an honor system or do you have to have sign a contract waiving your right to apply to other schools?
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PharmCAS will only allow you to apply to one school if you specify early decision. It is contractual in that you have to accept the invitation if it is offered. I guess you could apply to non-PharmCAS schools if you really wanted to but I think that would be a little shady. Once your primary school rejects you or waitlists you, you are allowed to apply to other schools.

I'm not a fan of early decision. You limit yourself to one school for an early decision even though people who are NOT early decision specified can still gain acceptance. They are also able to apply to different schools while you are stuck with one.

I wouldn't recommend early decision but I would recommend early submission of your application.
 
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