early decision?

[js11287]

I was wondering whether or not applying early decision to any given school has generally proved to give applicants a notable advantage. Also, if one were to apply early decision (since you can only apply to one), is it better to choose the long shot or the one that is just a little bit of a stretch?..the logic I guess being that I probalby wouldn't get into the reach without early decision, but is it "wasting" it by not using it for the other not as good school where it might have more benefit?

[CF25]

Bump, I am also curious about this...

[botbot]

Use your ED on a school where you fall in the bottom 30% of their index.  Schools do not lower their standards for ED, but you could take up one of the slots allocated for the bottom of the incoming class.

[futurelawyergal]

Also, I would do ED only if scholarship money does not matter to you since you don't know what your aid package will look like and if accepted you won't be able to use other offers for leverage.