What are the downsides of applying EA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the biggest downside is kids are maturing and changing so fast their senior year. Locking them into a college choice on Nov 1 is tough. My son has only been 17 for 3 months at this point.

EA is not a "locking in". it just gets you a decision sooner (unless deferred). Really no downside at all, IMO

For my first kid, EA meant they had 3 acceptances before Xmas break began. From their top 3 schools.

For 2nd kid, they had a ED deferral and 5 acceptances before Xmas. So they were still waiting for their #2 and #3 (and #1 in RD now), but "they knew they were going to college at a good choice" as they were in with merit at their top safety (a true hidden gem and really an "easy target" more than a safety). The holidays were much more relaxed (despite the ED deferral) to know they were in at their #4 and top safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly USC has a lower Ea admit rate than RD.

Can’t figure that out.

The way it was explained to us at a different school is because they have to reserve a certain percentage of acceptances via RD, depending on how many apply and get accepted via ED, it could decrease the number they can accept through EA. In that case, you have a better chance getting in via RD vs EA.

USC doesn't have ED. For them, it's the EA students being deferred and then being included in the RD statitstics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes, it typically does. They want you, but only if you are ready to commit. Typically done at schools like CWRU, which has a yield problem (They are a great school, filled with a lot of kids who wanted to attend A T25 and had a shot at getting into those). So they want their acceptances to matter. So if they aren't sure you are going to attend (or are not 100% certain for any other reason, but think you are a strong candidate), they will ask you to switch, and even give you a FA/Merit readout, basically stating "here is what you will get if you switch to ED2".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

Related - If you don't switch, does that pretty much guarantee you won't get in for EA? Or, do these students still get in? DC has their UMiami app in and won't be going ED.

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

Related - If you don't switch, does that pretty much guarantee you won't get in for EA? Or, do these students still get in? DC has their UMiami app in and won't be going ED.

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes, it typically does. They want you, but only if you are ready to commit. Typically done at schools like CWRU, which has a yield problem (They are a great school, filled with a lot of kids who wanted to attend A T25 and had a shot at getting into those). So they want their acceptances to matter. So if they aren't sure you are going to attend (or are not 100% certain for any other reason, but think you are a strong candidate), they will ask you to switch, and even give you a FA/Merit readout, basically stating "here is what you will get if you switch to ED2".

[Anonymous]

My kid applied everywhere EA. He hit submit by the first weekend in October. It was great. No downsides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the biggest downside is kids are maturing and changing so fast their senior year. Locking them into a college choice on Nov 1 is tough. My son has only been 17 for 3 months at this point.

Lol. How much do you think your kid matures between November 1 and January 15?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One downside is if you expect your first-semester senior grades to improve your GPA.

I don't think it's mathematically possible for one semester to change the average over 7 semesters that much.

If a kid’s GPA is low for a school but they are hoping to demonstrate an upward trajectory, then waiting for RD can make sense for schools other than UMD or similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes it does. But think about it. If your kid wanted to ED, they would have done it.

Presumably the game being played here is that Tier 3 or whatever schools are asking “Were you deferred rejected from ivy or Top 20?” Have you changed your mind? Do you wanna commit to us now, here’s your chance. We think you’re using us as a safety, or at the very least, an option among many, and that could hurt our yield, so if you don’t bite now, we aren’t taking you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the biggest downside is kids are maturing and changing so fast their senior year. Locking them into a college choice on Nov 1 is tough. My son has only been 17 for 3 months at this point.

Lol. How much do you think your kid matures between November 1 and January 15?

Plus this is NOT ED. you are NOT locked in. If you change your mind, you go literally anywhere else you get admitted to.

But the above is viable for many kids thinking about ED. You need to be 100% certain it's your top choice, or rather you are willing to attend if accepted (if you play games to ED to a slightly lower school than your top in hopes of gaining admission to a T30 school). If you are not 100% certain it's a school you love, then you should not ED (IMO)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes it does. But think about it. If your kid wanted to ED, they would have done it.

Presumably the game being played here is that Tier 3 or whatever schools are asking “Were you deferred rejected from ivy or Top 20?” Have you changed your mind? Do you wanna commit to us now, here’s your chance. We think you’re using us as a safety, or at the very least, an option among many, and that could hurt our yield, so if you don’t bite now, we aren’t taking you.

I wouldn't call CWRU or Tulane "tier 3 schools".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes it does. But think about it. If your kid wanted to ED, they would have done it.

Presumably the game being played here is that Tier 3 or whatever schools are asking “Were you deferred rejected from ivy or Top 20?” Have you changed your mind? Do you wanna commit to us now, here’s your chance. We think you’re using us as a safety, or at the very least, an option among many, and that could hurt our yield, so if you don’t bite now, we aren’t taking you.

I wouldn't call CWRU or Tulane "tier 3 schools".

For a kid applying T20, they are 3rd tier.

[Anonymous]

If you reject the switch to ED3, does that mean automatic rejection?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros
Shows demonstrated interest esp for schools that don’t have ED
You find out acceptances early December or January

Cons
If you are a competitive student, and they do have ED2, expect to be asked to convert from EA to ED2... If this happens and you decline, you’re not getting in, likely waitlisted.

Which schools is it common to have the above happen? EA applicant asked to switch to ED?

CWRU, Tulane are two I'm aware of. CWRU will even give you a readout of merit/FA you would get if switching. If you don't switch, then they assume you are using them as a Safety and don't really want to attend, so you might get deferred to RD and ultimately WL or rejected.

However, they accept plenty in EA---my own kid got in EA with a top merit package (we don't qualify for FA). And with fairly high stats (1500/3.98UW/8AP/Female engineering)

When the school asks if you want to switch from EA to ED, does it imply that you will be guaranteed admission if you switch?

Yes it does. But think about it. If your kid wanted to ED, they would have done it.

Presumably the game being played here is that Tier 3 or whatever schools are asking “Were you deferred rejected from ivy or Top 20?” Have you changed your mind? Do you wanna commit to us now, here’s your chance. We think you’re using us as a safety, or at the very least, an option among many, and that could hurt our yield, so if you don’t bite now, we aren’t taking you.

I wouldn't call CWRU or Tulane "tier 3 schools".

For a kid applying T20, they are 3rd tier.

Probably tier 4.