application rounds

Anybody have any suggestions how you should order which schools you apply to first? The obvious advantage of applying in round 1 is that you have a better chance but from what I've read is your applications become better the more you do. So should I put my longshot schools in round two when I have "better" applications or should I basically rank the schools in the order I want to get in and then pick the first x amount and do those in round 1?

If you get into a school ED you dont HAVE to go...you are supposed to but I know one person who was admitted during ED and then R1 at another school and went with the other school. You sign an agreement but I dont think Columbia really has any way to enforce it.

As for round selection, I think Apply to your top choices early. You will have plenty of time to craft essays and stuff if you are thinking about it now. The slight improvements you will make application to application arent really enough to overcome the difference in difficulty between the rounds. I suggest starting with the most thorough application first, this gives you the most material to take from. Then do your others and finally return to your first and rework it. Mine evolved almost until I submitted them. I know Montauk suggests Kelloggs essays as the best to start with and I agree...they definitely cover the most ground and give lots of room to write. So if you are applying to K, write those first and then go to others...then go back and rework everything as you get better at crafting your stories.

I've heard urban legends of schools "blacklisting" a applicant if they renege on their committment.

what if u apply ED to multiple schools and get into all of them....

then you may be in some trouble for applying to mulitiple EDs in the first place.

You dont have to go to a place you got into during ED. You can choose where to put your deposit and wont even have to pay a cent to the other one because you did that. Its actually possible to find out from some schools like Kellogg, who has a sort of rolling decision in each round, before you find out from a school you applied to during ED. I know I found out I got into Kellogg before Tuck released ED results.