Lessons learned from ED and SCEA in 2025

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

My unhooked public school kid got into one of those schools this year. It happens…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

My unhooked public school kid got into one of those schools this year. It happens…

Unless you identify the school it’s meaningless to op.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

I totally agree with this, but OTOH I know at least one "normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+" who did just get an ED admit to one of the schools you mention, without a hook or legacy.

It definitely happens but it is RARE. I personally know close to a dozen kids who ED'd to Dartmouth this year and 3 who got in: a double legacy, a VIP's kid and a very top 1600/4.0 kid. My experience with Dartmouth is that they will almost never circle back to deferred ED kids in RD unless they are donor class kids or FGLI. Your regular smart kids generally don't get a second look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Applying ED1 rushes your entire application. The quality of your essays improves over time. My DC's RD essays are so much better than his ED1 essay.

Agree that essays can improve over time but disagree with conclusion. If your kid is a good planner, ED won't be rushed. Deadlines are mostly in November so kids have summer and most of fall. If your kid is not a good planner, the first application, whether the deadline is September or January, will be rushed because many kids use deadlines to plan backwards. They don't get focused until crunch time. And, even if the essays improve over time, spreading them out over a few months helps.

[Anonymous]

ED does not miraculously lower admissions standards. Sometimes a “high reach” is actually out of reach. Yes the system sucks and yes your kid would be an asset to the ED school. Doesn’t matter.

Do not apply TO to an Ivy if coming from prep school

Do not apply to school where 90+% of kids are top 10% if you are nowhere near top 10%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

My unhooked public school kid got into one of those schools this year. It happens…

Unless you identify the school it’s meaningless to op.

I identified it enough. The post I responded to mentioned: Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth. My kid got into one of those.

[Anonymous]

My advice—Don’t bother with an ED to Michigan. They deferred basically everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If UVA is your DC's dream and if you are in-state, sure, ED UVA makes sense.

An important thing is to have several EA schools covering the floor, so that DC will have at least one acceptance from a T50 before the break.

RD will be a numbers game. Once you have the floor covered, they can apply to as many T20 schools and WASP as they can handle.

ED T10 still makes sense. You can gauge the strength of the application by the ED outcome: deferral or rejection. You can adjust RD strategy and/or revise essays if necessary.

Genuine question. What t50 schools have ea and notify students of an acceptance before won't we t break??

Georgetown, Notre Dame, Case Western

So there's only three? And you can't even apply to all three because of restrictions? Is that right? How is this having the floor covered?

You can apply to all three.

You should also pick some having later EA release dates, USC, UM, Miami, Tulane, etc.
Some T20 LACs also have EA.

You can't apply to those three if you ED or SCEA though. You can't apply to any private colleges early (except in certain rare scholarship situations).

[Anonymous]

If you are lucky enough to know exactly what you want, go for it and ignore everyone else. DC had a very clear first choice. Applied and got in super early (in September).

I thought DC may have regrets once classmates started to get into other T10 schools. But nothing of the sort has happened so far. I am starting to appreciate that my kid is now an adult who can make decisions for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

I totally agree with this, but OTOH I know at least one "normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+" who did just get an ED admit to one of the schools you mention, without a hook or legacy.

My kid fits this description and got in REA to one of HYPSM. They submitted a good performing arts supplement and also had solid evidence for their STEM interest/major. I think it’s less common to show achievement (awards, performing at prestigious events/venues, research, publications, etc.) in both performing arts and STEM - so this kind of profile may stand out in a competitive early pool.

Beyond just academics, these schools want students who will contribute positively to campus life and culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

My unhooked public school kid got into one of those schools this year. It happens…

I wonder if the disconnect is that many more kids from private schools are hooked/VIP so it seems to those parents that only those kids get in. But that's not always the case from public schools - some are hooked (legacy/athlete) but there are unhooked kids getting in. Our public had a great early round to the Top 5 schools. Unhooked, accomplished, smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advice—Don’t bother with an ED to Michigan. They deferred basically everyone.

I feel badly for the kids who ED to Michigan. Some regret it and wish they used their ED elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My advice—Don’t bother with an ED to Michigan. They deferred basically everyone.

I feel badly for the kids who ED to Michigan. Some regret it and wish they used their ED elsewhere.

yes, it as a total waste and may completely screw over a few of these kids in the long run.
These kids lost their ED chance. Michigan basically took their apps and treated them like their traditional EA pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would strongly discourage spending an ED/REA on Harvard/Yale/Princeton/Brown/Dartmouth unless you are an URM, FGLI, recruited athlete, from a private school, or from an underrepresented state. There is no room at these schools anymore for the normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+; they have too many other institutional priorities. Even legacy is a minimal boost at best.

If you look at the few ED stats presented by Dartmouth, you can see their priorities: low-income, and kids who are in the top quarter of their schools (i.e., not necessarily impressive compared to students at more rigorous or competitive schools)

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/12/dartmouth-welcomes-first-members-class-2030

I totally agree with this, but OTOH I know at least one "normal-excellent upper-middle-class public school white or Asian kid from the DMV or Northeast with a 4.0UW, lots of rigor, and a 1550+/35+" who did just get an ED admit to one of the schools you mention, without a hook or legacy.

I know an ED Dartmouth admit and a Harvard REA admit, both of whom very much fit the excellent (4.0/top rigor) upper-middle-class public school profile. From the DMV, white/Asian/not URM or FGLI or recruited athlete or from private schools.

Not saying it's an easy admit for anyone. Obviously. But these kids have no obvious hooks except exceptional minds and significant (but still teen-appropriate) accomplishments and were admitted early so -- it happens.

I was being hyperbolic when I said there is "no room" for these students. Obviously, there are a small number who get in, but I think it is much less than the admissions rate stats would indicate. In other words, where Yale's overall EA admissions rate is around 10 percent, I think the rate of admission of these types of students is probably 2 percent or less.

Also, I probably shouldn't have said that a lesson learned is to "discourage" these applications. If a kid is qualified and the school is truly their first choice, they should shoot their shot. My kid did so and doesn't regret it. But I think future applicants and their parents need to be aware that for these types of applicants, the admissions rates at these schools are extremely low.

[Anonymous]

ED for top schools is a lottery, but if you don't cast your ballot your kid will never know if they are accepted. One caveat to consider- most kids that I know that were accepted got into schools with a large freshman class. Smaller school- fewer rolls of the dice.