what to ED1/ED2/RD with this list
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Anonymous
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3.8 GPA at top tier NYC private.35 ACT. No hooks, lots of good school-based ECs including leadership, fulfilling summer activities but nothing especially competitive.
Humanities boy. Would be thrilled with any of these reaches based on one visit to each (would def want to revisit) UChicago Rice Vandy Bowdoin Middlebury Williams Northwestern Davidson ND what to ED 1/2 or RD here? |
Anonymous
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It’s all about your school and your peer group.
Are their hooked kids in your class ED to any of these schools? Start there. Super important to realize competition is your classmates. Esp if only 1-2 kids get in from your class. |
Anonymous
| There are some really different schools on the list. Is urban U of Chicago really as appealing as Bowdoin? ED can be a boost at any of them. Nobody can tell him which to ED, sounds like he needs to do a lot more research and reflection on which would actually be his first choice. |
Anonymous
| I don’t think Bowdoin or Williams is worth ED1 here, if there are other schools he likes just as well. My observation is the humanities boy edge will not help here—these are the typical preferred choices of humanities boys IME. |
Anonymous
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You ED to the school that is your son's favorite/top choice. Depending on the outcome there, you are either done or your can ED 2 to another. We had some of these schools on our list as well, but DC got into ED school so that was the end of the process for us.
If some of the schools on DS's list have an EA option--particularly those that are more "liklies" or "targets," I'd recommend apply to those early along with the ED choice. It can help soften the blow if ED doesn't work out and also helps you access whether you want to do ED2 somewhere or just go RD with second round of applications (should those be necessary). Agree with PP that your competition is your classmates so if DS would be equally happy at two different schools, pick the less "popular" one for ED if you think DS will not stack up as well against classmates who are also applying ED. But, again, you only ED to a school you absolutely want to attend. |
Anonymous
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Rice
UChicago |
Anonymous
He's a city kid who is totally familiar with life in a city neighborhood and all that comes with that. UChicago has a residential system that appealed, curriculum that he wants with professors who excite him on a drop dead gorgeous campus. Bowdoin also had the curriculum, campus, residential and food (!) that excited him and Brunswick was plenty big with easy access to Portland (we saw a concert one night and had no issue getting there and back) and a train station steps from campus. He also has a couple older siblings and knows the limit of research and reflection. You can do all the research all the world and you can and get a lousy roommate, a department gets cut, or you get sick and all of a sudden the health services you never even visited is a key factor in your health and happiness. He's not about a first choice. As he said, "I'm not looking for a soulmate, I'm looking for a college. I can be happy at a lot of places" |
Anonymous
I would have said UChicago and then Rice. Both really like private school kids. 3.8 won't hold him back in ED. |
Anonymous
These are such important points. Start with top choice. Don’t ED somewhere that isn’t top choice. If there are truly two top choices, then you can use strategy to determine which to ED to. My kid had two schools he considered top choices, with a small preference for one over the other. It also happened that the #1 option had only one round of ED, while the #2 option had ED1/2. So he applied ED to #1, didn’t get in, and applied ED2 and got in to #2. This was a great outcome! But if it had been the other way around, he still would have applied to #1 choice ED1. |
Anonymous
| Va Tech |
Anonymous
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fair warning, you may know where 10% of your peers are applying. Kids either don't say, won't say, don't give you a complete picture or change their mind at the last minute.
Don't count on any of this. And don't be the kid or mom who goes around asking "does anyone know if Bobby is applying to Williams early? and where did Bobby's parents go to college? do you think he's first gen by chance?" |
Anonymous
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college advisors: "forget the dream school trap"
DCUM: "make the kid focus on a dream college" |
Anonymous
| None, other than maybe Davidson, are great RD choices. I’ve also heard luck with Vandy at RD. It’s about where he wants and strategy. Make sure ED2 is a very desired but reasonable pick. The strategy at ED1 is harder because you want a real shot. I think strongest chances at either ED are Chicago, Middlebury and Davidson. I’d probably pick one for ED2. But your school counselor should know better than we do. |
Anonymous
| If it’s a top tier private, Davidson a likely RD. The others all depend on his preference, but Middlebury and Bowdoin very likely ED1 and not very likely RD. Williams ED doesn’t really help unless hooked. For a boy with a humanities focus, slac admissions more likely than universities. |
Anonymous
Adding Vandy ED1 rate is now less than 20 percent, so wouldn’t ED there unless his top choice by a lot. |