Anonymous wrote:DD has high stats (perfect SAT, 4.0 gpa, highest rigor across STEM and Humanities at her high school). She has a few writing awards. She also has an unusual science passion that translated to a prestigious (not pay to play) internship, which might pique the interest of universities. She's been doing an artistic extra curricular since she was little and has measurable third party indicators of progress, and some community involvement relating to it, but nothing flashy or on a large scale, apart from her years of dedication. The atypical scientific spike is probably what sets her apart, because it's not the usual STEM suspects. On the other hand, she's not sure that's what she wants to do all her life, so she would like to hedge and attend a university where she can switch majors.

At that level, how do you decide whether to ED at a school where ED significantly improves one's chances of admission... or gamble on other reaches in the hope that one of them comes through? If she had a preference for one of those ED schools, it would be easy, but she doesn't, and some of these schools lock you into a path.