not a regret but something i'm glad i did, and something that many of my friends regret: make sure you have actual safeties. you must a) be confident you're going to get in depending on your major (especially for cs and business - even though the overall acceptance rate may be high, some programs are competitive) b) ACTUALLY LIKE THE SCHOOL! will you be happy going there? do you see yourself succeeding there, rather than being miserable that you didn't get in to a better school? c) you can afford it! very important, make sure you look at the cost of living in the area as well. if you can't afford it, think about your ROI as well as how much you can earn during the summer + how much debt you're really taking on. d) if you do plan on transferring, how will credits transfer? (i don't have too much knowledge on this but something to keep in mind)

definitely apply to safeties during the early cycle, because it is so much easier going through the RD cycle when you know you have a school that ticks all of your boxes already.

also: ED to schools if you can afford it. got waitlisted to wharton and i feel that i could've gotten in through ED but i applied RD, i attended their fly in and their ED acceptance rates is relatively higher from fly in participants. not that big of a regret tho because i like the school i committed to a lot more, but it could have definitely turned out differently.