"Early Action" kind of scammy at EDII schools?

[Anonymous]

DD did not apply Early Decision to any schools, but did apply Early Action to a number of them. The first Early Action school she has heard back from is Furman (as second or 3rd choice school), which, somewhat to my surprise, deferred her- albeit with the requisite invitation to consider "Early Decision II". I am a bit surprised by the deferral considering DD has a 32 ACT (which puts her in the top 25% of the 50% of Furman applicants who submit test scores), is not applying for financial aid (i.e. full pay), has 3 5s on AP Tests, and solid though not spectacular grades from one of the most academically rigorous private schools in the Southeast. Given that Furman, according to its common data set, accepts roughly 60% of its domestic OOS applicants, it seems that DD should be right in their wheelhouse. What's their game here...just trying to stampede "Early Action" applicants into ED2? Given that Furman is not her top choice, that's not going to happen. Still, given that we are not talking about a super selective school here, the deferral rankles given the comparative strength of my daughter's academic and extracurricular profile. If, as I expect, they end up admitting her anyway in the RD round, it makes me much less likely to consider enrolling DD as a second or third choice should DD's plans change.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think any school should pressure a student who applied EA or RD to switch to ED2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think any school should pressure a student who applied EA or RD to switch to ED2.

Bucknell and Case Western do this.

[Anonymous]

They know they are not your first choice, therefore you are not theirs. They are protecting their yield. If you apply ED2 you show they are your top choice and they will look at you more seriously. It’s part of the game. Students/parents value high ranking schools that are selective, therefore schools do what they can to increase applicant numbers and decrease their yield (the number who are offered spots and decline).

[Anonymous]

+1 you were deferred bc they did not think your child would attend. Yield.

[Anonymous]

Chicago also does this.

[Anonymous]

Just based upon your post I’m guessing this is a case of them wanting to avoid your kid rejecting them ultimately…lots of schools do this now.

[Anonymous]

My kid and several classmates applied to Furman a couple years ago. Very surprised at your DD’s deferral. I’m wondering if it might be because Furman is majority-female and they may be waiting to see how the gender ratio shakes out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago also does this.

Chicago is the worst for this sort of game-playing. So many different deadlines, so many ways to mess with kids’ heads. And they talk about caring about their students. So much bs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago also does this.

Chicago is the worst for this sort of game-playing. So many different deadlines, so many ways to mess with kids’ heads. And they talk about caring about their students. So much bs.

Oh look, it's the Chicago hater attempting to derail yet another thread endless Chicago hatred.

Don't you ever get bored with yourself?

[Anonymous]

I always chuckle at the bitter parents who are fine with these policies until they don't go their way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always chuckle at the bitter parents who are fine with these policies until they don't go their way.

Me again.

Your child doesn't want to go there (by your own admission), they called your bluff, and now it's a scam?

[Anonymous]

The posturing and deferrals by colleges this year is off the chain. So tired of these admissions games.

[Anonymous]

I respect colleges that don’t play this game, even if it means their yield numbers are lower as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago also does this.

Chicago is the worst for this sort of game-playing. So many different deadlines, so many ways to mess with kids’ heads. And they talk about caring about their students. So much bs.

Oh look, it's the Chicago hater attempting to derail yet another thread endless Chicago hatred.

Don't you ever get bored with yourself?

Wow. That was OTT.

Not that you will believe anything that contradicts your conspiracy theory, but I have never posted about Chicago before. We checked it out and DC decided not to apply. It seems like a good school with good students or we wouldn’t have even considered it. Child got into comparable schools and is attending one.

But can you seriously say their approach to admissions - ED1; EA; encouraging students deferred in EA, ED0 and ED1 to convert to ED2; ED2; RD and especially their SSEN (a third binding application round or ED0 for students attending their summer pre-college session) - is designed with the mental health of the applicants in mind? It’s designed to increase yield and favors full pay students.