ED applicants: prepare for Plan B
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Anonymous
| It’s been said before. But it’s all true - after an ED deferral or rejection, it is difficult to rally and apply to other schools. Many plan ahead for this. Many don’t but it’s not too late. Think about it before the wind gets out of their sails. And the best news is things will likely improve if you’ve created a balanced list. Acceptances will start to roll in from EA schools, and in RD. And sometimes the ED deferral will become an RD acceptance, like in my student’s. But if they had to do it over again, they would have assumed an ED rejection/deferral, and applied more widely so that there wasn’t a last minute holiday break scramble. All best |
Anonymous
| Great advice. Our kid applied ED to UVA but then submitted 6 other applications EA. Want to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. |
Anonymous
| Yep, we're trying to keep the pressure on to crank out essays for the next 5 weeks. Really hoping there won't be more than 2 schools left on the RD list by the time DC hears from ED. At that point he'll have done enough that he could probably bail on those apps if he isn't feeling the energy. |
Anonymous
| 8 apps already in! if ED comes through, he'll pull them. 2 more to go but focusing on grades right now. |
Anonymous
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10 in.
10 to go. 7 are done. |
Anonymous
| Do kids really just apply to an ED school and wait around until then? I haven’t seen or heard that, most are applying to multiple colleges even if there’s an ED application in the mix. |
Anonymous
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Def want to finish applications over Thanksgiving and if you never need to use them, then all the better. Finishing them after getting bad news is not fun.
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Anonymous
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I don't know. My kid got deferred from a T20 that he was way way up in green in Naviance and HS counselor said (but couldn't say 100%) it was a lock. Based on all years prior-it was pretty much a sure thing.
Getting deferred from what he thought was his top choice pissed him off enough that he cranked out apps to a bunch of T10s/Ivies/T15s--prob too many but the deferral lit a fire under his *ss to prove them wrong. He ended up getting into pretty much every school RD and the 'favorite' was no longer a favorite by RD. But, do know your kid. My kid was used to facing rejection in sports and other things and he always leveled up from the rejections. Always dug in and did better and the outcome was always better than the thing/place, etc that rejected him in the first place. It is good to teach grit. But, for some kids this college rejection might be the first time in their entire lives they have ever heard 'no' or faced a rejection due to parents interfering and bulldozing things for them (and can't now) or the 'everyone gets a trophy'. |
Anonymous
^ meant to say he only had turned in 3 (EA public, EA private (which prevented him from anymore EA privates) and one RD. So, he did like 12 I think over the 2 week winter break when midterm exams were over 
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Anonymous
Yup, mine did. Athletic recruit, but to a reach D3. He is likely to get it (maybe 80% chance) but it isn’t for sure. He refuses to think about a plan B. No other applications, no backup plan. It’s his life, you know? If he doesn’t get in we’ll have a rough Christmas. On the other hand, making him apply to additional schools now would make for a rough fall, so we are taming our anxiety and hoping for the best. |
Anonymous
Mine did. ED is a target and added one additional EA. If extra apps are needed we have a list ready to go and DC has looked at essay prompts for other schools and has right outline that will be used to draft essays as needed. |
Anonymous
This is an excellent point. |
Anonymous
Same. ED to a target is a wonderful thing. My kid’s decision. Worked out great but had a Plan B |
Anonymous
| I’m all for a natural consequences approach in most areas of life but we strongly urged DD to apply to a couple schools EA in addition to her ED school. ED school was a tough admit and even though she was an excellent candidate, it was far from guaranteed with no hooks etc. We knew that getting news (that was more likely to be positive) at the same time as ED decision would help and that would make Christmas break more tolerable for everyone. She understood this and agreed with that strategy. She worked with CC to come up with the list of apply to early schools. |
Anonymous
Mine last year applied ED along with just one or two EAs because most of his list only had ED. So, I wouldn't say he was waiting exactly but he had a super busy senior year, like so many kids, and didn't really buckle down to do all the other supplementals until after being turned down ED. I would definitely advise against that but that's where he found himself. He ended up applying to a total of 20 schools, almost all of which had supplemental essays-maybe 18 of the 20-and got into a lot more than I expected RD. So it was tough, but it worked. I wish I weren't like this, and I wish my son hadn't inherited this quality from me, but some of us work best under a little pressure. |