PSA - If your child knows they aren’t going to a school please have them decline now

[Anonymous]

Penn State has sent a “survey” asking whether my DC will attend: yes, no, probably, unsure (or something like that). I think these schools are trying to manage yield when they are overwhelmed with record applications. I also feel annoyed since DC has until May1. Stop the pressure!!

[Anonymous]

I get that schools are stressed about yield. But it’s stressful for my kid, too. Rejected at ED choice, in at both “likelies,” deferred at all other EA schools. We are trying to stay enthusiastic about both likelies as there is a very good chance those are the only options, but it would feel really crappy to make her choose between those now when she already has fewer options at this point than she hoped. So nope, we are not declining any yet.

[Anonymous]

I don’t care that schools are stressed about yield. They made this system and most have opted for test optional which has also added to this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing. Kids aren't certain at this point that they are saying no. At this stage of the game, mine only had 2 likely acceptances. Even after getting several T15 and top LAC admits in RD, she wasn't sure she wanted to say No to the 2 likelies because she had sought to find what was great about them. And, she thought they were fantastic. So, she needed to see everything. Once she went to admitted students' events, she was certain of a few she could cut. But, it took a while to whittle it down. Don't push a kid to say No too early. They need to be sure. And, as another PP said, I doubt it will make a big difference for ids waiting. They have algorithms for these things. Hang in there. The waiting is hard! All good things to those waiting!

VBA

[Anonymous]

OP, i get your impulse and wishing GL to your DC. OTOH, nearly everyone here has raised good points about why their DC is waiting to hear from other schools.

Again, GL to your DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t work like that OP.

How does it work?

By this point decisions have been made. Maybe your kid is on the waitlist and that slot will open up because an EA student drops but it won’t matter at this stage before the decisions are released in a few weeks.

So the same principle applies. Maybe it will open a spot to someone on the waitlist.
Don't be a selfish dick and hold a spot you have no intention of taking. Just b/c you can, doesn't mean you should. And a decent person would relinquish it.

(And before the snarky "sorry you're kid didn't get accepted" comments, my kid is not graduating and headed to college this year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, i get your impulse and wishing GL to your DC. OTOH, nearly everyone here has raised good points about why their DC is waiting to hear from other schools.

Again, GL to your DC.

Thus the "if your child KNOWS they aren't going." If you don't know yet, then obv OPs ask wouldn't apply to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that schools are stressed about yield. But it’s stressful for my kid, too. Rejected at ED choice, in at both “likelies,” deferred at all other EA schools. We are trying to stay enthusiastic about both likelies as there is a very good chance those are the only options, but it would feel really crappy to make her choose between those now when she already has fewer options at this point than she hoped. So nope, we are not declining any yet.

She chose those schools already by applying to them. I hope you don't communicate the message that having to go to one of them is a "crappy" option. You are not helping her be positive.

People, the most likely schools that your kids will get into are their "likelies." That is literally what (most) likely means.

Wrap your head around it the whole time, not at the end in shock and dismay.

[Anonymous]

Do all schools require acceptance of offer by May 1? Does that mean that the WL status doesn't change after that date? How does that work? Let's say a kid wants to go to the WL school and gets the offer mid-May, do they just withdraw the acceptance at whatever school they said yes to originally? Are there fees associated with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that schools are stressed about yield. But it’s stressful for my kid, too. Rejected at ED choice, in at both “likelies,” deferred at all other EA schools. We are trying to stay enthusiastic about both likelies as there is a very good chance those are the only options, but it would feel really crappy to make her choose between those now when she already has fewer options at this point than she hoped. So nope, we are not declining any yet.

My kid's friend is in at something like 6 schools and only considering 2 of them while still waiting for the RD decisions. At this point, wouldn't it be a good idea to decline the other 4? The kid isn't considering them and those are spots that others may really want. Right?

[Anonymous]

Most kids are still awaiting their RD decisions, OP. There is nothing to decline for another month or so.

Also, that is not how it works. You need to be more familiar with the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do all schools require acceptance of offer by May 1? Does that mean that the WL status doesn't change after that date? How does that work? Let's say a kid wants to go to the WL school and gets the offer mid-May, do they just withdraw the acceptance at whatever school they said yes to originally? Are there fees associated with that?

I think that waitlist status can change even over the summer. I'm sure that someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Someone who coached DD in a sport told us at the beginning of one summer that she was going to college X, but at the end of the summer when she was heading off to college, it was now college Y. So I can only think that she must have gotten off a waiting list? I was also puzzled at virtual HS graduations that it wasn't shown which colleges kids were going to, but I realized that it must be because the colleges could still change? Things are different now than when I graduated from HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do all schools require acceptance of offer by May 1? Does that mean that the WL status doesn't change after that date? How does that work? Let's say a kid wants to go to the WL school and gets the offer mid-May, do they just withdraw the acceptance at whatever school they said yes to originally? Are there fees associated with that?

Usually the deposit is non-refundable, so yes if you accept an offer off the waitlist, you are out some dollars.

The alternative, however, is to risk having no spot the following fall. You need to accept something by the deadline, in order to reserve a spot on campus.

(And the later you accept, often, the worse your housing assignment will be.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t work like that OP.

How does it work?

Colleges have already calculated an anticipated yield from their EA/RD acceptances offered. So rejecting them early does nothing until after May 1. Then the school will determine if they have enough students or not.
They already assume a certain percentage of students will say NO. so your kid saying no does not automatically make them accept another kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t work like that OP.

How does it work?

Schools accept more students than they know will attend. They have algorithms to predict yield. Students admitted EA declining a spot now does not[b] cause a college to admit +1 extra person later this month. If the college overestimated yield, they can go to their waitlist later.

Declining an EA spot before the RD decisions come out could possibly change who gets accepted RD. One kid doing it would not, but if enough kids do it, then a school could possibly change the number of RD acceptances. But it essentially does not do anything until after May 1. Or it might change how much merit/FA is awarded to someone in RD. But then again, not that likely.