Is it a good idea to apply early decision?

[rider06]

I plan on applying early decision at Hofstra.  My numbers are 154/3.3 so it's probably less than a 50/50 chance I'll get in anyway.

Does it improve your chances at all if you apply early decision?  Also, can you be waitlisted if you apply for early decision or is it only accepted/rejected?

Thanks

[tacojohn]

Early decision definetly raises your chances of getting accepted.  Remember it's binding though, so be absolutely sure that's where you want to go if you get in.  And I believe you can only apply to one school ED.

[KayakAnyone]

Early decision definetly raises your chances of getting accepted.  Remember it's binding though, so be absolutely sure that's where you want to go if you get in.  And I believe you can only apply to one school ED.

ED does not always raise your chances.  in the OP case i think it may hurt him/her.you should only ed to a school that you'd love to go to and that you have a good chance at getting into (otherwise in the top 65 percentile of their numbers).  if you apply ED to a school where you are the average applicant they are likely to either reject you outright or hold your app until they get a sense of the entire applicant pool.  ED only helps about 15% of people who ED.  and hurts about 30% of ED applicants and does not matter one way or another to the remaining 55%.  just apply around the end of oct to hofstra to maximize your chance.

[tacojohn]

I think the much larger concern for someone who is an average to solid applicant to a school (which I would say a 65% chance applicant would be) is money.  Even an average applicant might be able to get a few grand to come to a school to keep the yield up, but ED makes this tougher because you're bound to the school.

[loveless]

Woah, woah. I'm getting confused.

Alright, here it goes. I have a 3.8/3.85 cumulative, but 3.97 at my current school (Michigan). I got a 166 on my LSAT. I am not in the top 65 perecent of people applying to UMich for law school, but I am an in-state.

Would I be hurting myself by applying there ED?

[KayakAnyone]

Woah, woah. I'm getting confused.

Alright, here it goes. I have a 3.8/3.85 cumulative, but 3.97 at my current school (Michigan). I got a 166 on my LSAT. I am not in the top 65 perecent of people applying to UMich for law school, but I am an in-state.

Would I be hurting myself by applying there ED?

Look, this is just my opinion based on research conversations I have with members of some admission committees.  But I think at Michigan if you are not sent a fee waiver -- then you should NOT ED there.  send in your application by October 29th and hope for the best.   also, for more information i've pasted the following from:  http://www.deloggio.com/how&when/how&when.htm

Early Decision?
I spend a lot of time saying "early decision is a fake."  Oh, most schools who advertise them really do admit some people from them.  (Most?  Not all?  How about, "all who didn't lose their dean of admissions suddenly"?)  But they tend to admit presumptive admits.  Presumptive admits get admitted as easily in December as they do in October; the law schools don't worry about running out of seats until January.  The rest of you get postponed until March.   

But they promised you a decision?  Oh yes, you'll get one.  The decision will be "We've decided to postpone..."  Unfair?  Or just thinking like a lawyer?  I have no opinion on the fairness of it; I only tell you the rules.  So don't worry about early decision unless you're sure you want to go to that school, and need to settle in soon so your kids can start school, spouse can find a new job, etc.

There has been such so much noise about early decision programs in the last few years that I made it one of my interview questions in 2001. The big news is that nothing's really different.  Only 24 schools out of 152 reported having an early decision program, and of that number, only 9 are binding.  The rest are what undergrad schools call "early action:"  if you apply early, you'll hear early.  That makes a lot of sense in the undergrad game, where most schools don't have rolling admissions, but most law schools do roll, so early action looks a lot like everyone else. On the other hand, schools are filling up early, and it is helpful to have a good file complete early.   

So what am I saying here?  I'm saying that if your file is complete  before December 1, your chance of being admitted is about exactly the same whether or not you checked a little box labeled "early decision."  The early date is helpful; the little box isn't.   

For a more in-depth look at early action and early decision programs, as well as for a cogent argument that they help schools and hurt applicants, especially less wealthy applicants, see the Atlantic Monthly, September '01.  And thank you to Faye Deal at Stanford for telling me about the article.   

again the above was from http://www.deloggio.com/how&when/how&when.htm.  interesting site, has more useful than many of the sites i often see on here.  i also really enjoyed the article in Atlantic Monthly.

[loveless]

Yeah, well, I have an appointment with an adcomm at UMICH Friday. I'll see what comes of it.

[tier 7 hopeful]

Let us know loveless...although my app will already be sent...just curious