How/When did you know what school to ED to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior and I can't believe he'll have enough info to ED in under a year.

We've seen a few colleges and will spend more weekends and all of Spring Break looking. I like the olden days when you also get an accepted weekend, etc to decide. Now it seems like game is to ED somewhere. Are kids confident enough btw junior and senior year? Or is ED for kids who have always known they wanted XYZ college?

It’s really for kids who have always wanted to go somewhere or who discover a really great fit with exactly what they want and know they fit well with the school. These kids have high rates of acceptance because the school really is a good fit and they communicate that well in the application.

The problem is that everyone sees those high rates and assumes somehow that applying early decision is a special advantage, so they pick a reach school for ED and hope they get in. For all of the talk about ED, remember that you don’t really hear about all the kids that didn’t get it. It’s not how the majority of students end up at the final school.

My DC2 had excellent qualifications but was interested in several specific programs at different schools and was wise enough to recognize that they weren’t ready to commit Nov 1. They applied to 4 schools EA and 4 schools RD. Got into 3 Ivys and 2 other top 20 plus state flagship. Picked a top 20. ED isn’t required for acceptance at top schools. If the kid isn’t sure, don’t just randomly apply ED.

The bolded. The reason ED admission rates are higher is because it is when the athletes and hooked kids apply. If you compare unhooked ED to RD, the rates are roughly the same. The "ED Advantage" is really a smokescreen. Sure, there are some kids who get in, but the reality is that the single digit admission schools are also single digit admissions for unhooked kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited Northwestern in June and there were students sailing and windsurfing. It looked like a scene out of the Bahamas or something. The fact it’s also got a top 10 chemistry program in the world also helped. So our boy EDd and is a current freshman.

And in February no one is outside.

I love northwestern, but people visit at the times that the weather bares no reality to the academic year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what do you do if your kid has been fed the idea of a "dream school" from every direction?

Temper their dreams, particularly if said school is a T25 single digit admit rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping my junior has more clarity by next fall. Current favorite colleges include on with no ED and a sub-10 acceptance rate and one with ED with a sub-15 acceptance rate. My junior has a list of about 5-6 schools right now where they would likely apply, but the one w/o ED complicates things. I hope things become more clear in the next year. I actually don't like ED at all, but it seems to be part of the process that can't be ignored. Also, I wonder if my perception is skewed by DCUM. When I checked out the class admits IG page last year, a lot of kids weren't selecting until late in the year. Maybe ED isn't as huge as it sometimes feels.

The etiquette at our school is not to announce on the class IG until after decisions are out in April—so there’s no way to tell from the class IG who ED’d (a lot do). But also, many kids I know didn’t get into their ED last year.

It’s okay to decide senior fall. Kids and their preferences change a lot.

Surely they know anyway.

For curiosity (b/c I hadn't heard about that unofficial rule), a 3rd of the posts from last year were before April. I don't think our students follow that "rule". Is ED data on Naviance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what do you do if your kid has been fed the idea of a "dream school" from every direction?

Talk them out of it. Do everything you can.

My kid's "dream school" was of their own making, and I tried everything to talk them out of out it. Now they've applied EA and will learn of their rejection in a month or so, and it'll be a struggle to get them to choose another school.

Which is why they should continue to write applications through Thanksgiving. It will be very painful if they have to do it over winter break having just been rejected or deferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping my junior has more clarity by next fall. Current favorite colleges include on with no ED and a sub-10 acceptance rate and one with ED with a sub-15 acceptance rate. My junior has a list of about 5-6 schools right now where they would likely apply, but the one w/o ED complicates things. I hope things become more clear in the next year. I actually don't like ED at all, but it seems to be part of the process that can't be ignored. Also, I wonder if my perception is skewed by DCUM. When I checked out the class admits IG page last year, a lot of kids weren't selecting until late in the year. Maybe ED isn't as huge as it sometimes feels.

The etiquette at our school is not to announce on the class IG until after decisions are out in April—so there’s no way to tell from the class IG who ED’d (a lot do). But also, many kids I know didn’t get into their ED last year.

It’s okay to decide senior fall. Kids and their preferences change a lot.

Surely they know anyway.

Right, but school IGs in January are not a good way to gauge ED participation.

[Anonymous]

The absolute best thing about ED is so mom can still update the family holiday newsletter with your big announcement!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited Northwestern in June and there were students sailing and windsurfing. It looked like a scene out of the Bahamas or something. The fact it’s also got a top 10 chemistry program in the world also helped. So our boy EDd and is a current freshman.

And in February no one is outside.

I love northwestern, but people visit at the times that the weather bares no reality to the academic year.

My son ED’d to Northwestern also-curious about your kid’s stats. We’ve only had girls be accepted at all in recent years (ED or RD) so hard to compare or establish any expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior and I can't believe he'll have enough info to ED in under a year.

We've seen a few colleges and will spend more weekends and all of Spring Break looking. I like the olden days when you also get an accepted weekend, etc to decide. Now it seems like game is to ED somewhere. Are kids confident enough btw junior and senior year? Or is ED for kids who have always known they wanted XYZ college?

It’s really for kids who have always wanted to go somewhere or who discover a really great fit with exactly what they want and know they fit well with the school. These kids have high rates of acceptance because the school really is a good fit and they communicate that well in the application.

The problem is that everyone sees those high rates and assumes somehow that applying early decision is a special advantage, so they pick a reach school for ED and hope they get in. For all of the talk about ED, remember that you don’t really hear about all the kids that didn’t get it. It’s not how the majority of students end up at the final school.

My DC2 had excellent qualifications but was interested in several specific programs at different schools and was wise enough to recognize that they weren’t ready to commit Nov 1. They applied to 4 schools EA and 4 schools RD. Got into 3 Ivys and 2 other top 20 plus state flagship. Picked a top 20. ED isn’t required for acceptance at top schools. If the kid isn’t sure, don’t just randomly apply ED.

The bolded. The reason ED admission rates are higher is because it is when the athletes and hooked kids apply. If you compare unhooked ED to RD, the rates are roughly the same. The "ED Advantage" is really a smokescreen. Sure, there are some kids who get in, but the reality is that the single digit admission schools are also single digit admissions for unhooked kids.

It depends on the school. Some schools yield protect by accepting a significant portion of their class through ED rounds or REA. Even factoring in athletes and hooked kids, admission rates at these schools are higher prior to RD. U of Chicago being a prime example of a school that yield protects.

[Anonymous]

Another factor to consider if you are legacy is applying ED. Most schools that still consider it as a factor want you to apply ED. If you apply RD, legacy is no longer given weight. We were told this by many different colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The absolute best thing about ED is so mom can still update the family holiday newsletter with your big announcement!

I know you're joking, but not necessarily. I actually posted about this here - just being accepted ED doesn't mean one can/will attend, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what do you do if your kid has been fed the idea of a "dream school" from every direction?

Temper their dreams, particularly if said school is a T25 single digit admit rate.

Temper their dreams if it's under 80%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absolute best thing about ED is so mom can still update the family holiday newsletter with your big announcement!

I know you're joking, but not necessarily. I actually posted about this here - just being accepted ED doesn't mean one can/will attend, unfortunately.

Oh I’ve seen “Junior will be joining The Tribe next year!!!! #Blessed” etc many many a-newsletter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The absolute best thing about ED is so mom can still update the family holiday newsletter with your big announcement!

I know you're joking, but not necessarily. I actually posted about this here - just being accepted ED doesn't mean one can/will attend, unfortunately.

Oh I’ve seen “Junior will be joining The Tribe next year!!!! #Blessed” etc many many a-newsletter.

I guess finances aren't an issue for everyone.

[Anonymous]

The kid has to make a decision eventually, parents let them put it off to the last minute, paying application fees for 10-20 schools. We made a list, visited the top few, picked one and applied ED. If that doesn't work we'll go to the next 3-5 on the list.