What is wrong with applying to more schools after getting in HYP REA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a ‘friend’ who got into Cornell ED but submitted other apps just to see where else she would get in and then brag about it. Just seems unethical.

The high school won't submit transcripts to other colleges once the ED admission happened. So they are wasting their time.

I believe it was REA as OP mentioned HYP. But a couple of years there was this kid on Reddit who applied REA to Harvard and EA to MIT. His school regularly sent kids to Ivies. He was admitted REA to H but deferred and ultimately rejected from MIT. So his counselor did the wrong thing as one cannot apply REA/EA to Harvard and MIT.

Apparently there’s a clearinghouse that tracks these things and if caught, a college can rescind admission. I don’t think Harvard would care even if they found out about it. He stopped posting so not sure what happened but I was watching to see if they would catch it.

[Anonymous]

i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

So why apply SCEA or RD to Yale if they don't like it?

The OPs kid is trophy hunting after her acceptance to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. And the reality of college admissions today at highly selective colleges is that she is killing the chances for her classmates at competitive schools as she keeps applying for sh#ts and giggles with a HYPS admit in her pocket. CalTech? Really?

This is a bad kid with bad parents. And it's no wonder her classmates have turned on her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

I think this is the right approach. One or two additional schools if a student would truly pick them over the REA. Learning empathy for others and acting accordingly will get a kid far in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

Back in the day is not today. 1/2 the former admit rates (or far less) makes it 2-3X or more likely that another admit takes the spot of a high school peer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

So why apply SCEA or RD to Yale if they don't like it?

The OPs kid is trophy hunting after her acceptance to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. And the reality of college admissions today at highly selective colleges is that she is killing the chances for her classmates at competitive schools as she keeps applying for sh#ts and giggles with a HYPS admit in her pocket. CalTech? Really?

This is a bad kid with bad parents. And it's no wonder her classmates have turned on her.

skill issue

if classmates were gonna be accepted theyd be waitlisted anyways, and then their daughter declining the offer would effectively open up those spots. if they were rejeced then oh well.

who knows why she applied to yale. maybe it was her best chance at getting in early since they love snatching up stem applicants. her reasons are her own but it does happen when applicants dont apply to their tippy top choice early. im sure if you offered the entire penn ED class a harvard spot 95% would take it in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

Back in the day is not today. 1/2 the former admit rates (or far less) makes it 2-3X or more likely that another admit takes the spot of a high school peer.

Yes but that's not this kid's problem. They should play by the rules and act ethically. But they also need to do what's right for them. They should not trophy hunt of course. But they are not 100 in on the REA and still considering other options, that's their right to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

I think this is the right approach. One or two additional schools if a student would truly pick them over the REA. Learning empathy for others and acting accordingly will get a kid far in life.

REA +2 poster again. I genuinely loved the other 2 schools too and had a hard choice. I still think about them occasionally and wonder what my path would have been. They were all pretty different but great schools. It was a very fortunate position to be in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

There's literally another thread where people claim no one wants to be in a rural location. New Haven is a great place to go to school for kids who like being in an urban setting. Why is it so hard to accept that different people want different things? That's why it's great that there are so many different colleges in so many different types of places. If one doesn't work for you, why the need to sling insults?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

There's literally another thread where people claim no one wants to be in a rural location. New Haven is a great place to go to school for kids who like being in an urban setting. Why is it so hard to accept that different people want different things? That's why it's great that there are so many different colleges in so many different types of places. If one doesn't work for you, why the need to sling insults?

Your chance of being a victim of violent crime in New Haven is 1 in 175 and property crime is 1 in 24.

With a crime rate of 39 per one thousand residents, New Haven has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.

The 2020 crime rate in New Haven, CT is 386 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 1.5 times greater than the U.S. average. It was higher than in 93.2% U.S. cities.

At one point it was America's 4th dangerous city in terms of violent crimes per 1000 residents.

https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/08/25/yale-police-union-distributes-flyers-alleging-a-crime-ridden-new-haven-during-contract-negotiations/

"insults" is funny to me. sometimes, the truth hurts. and the truth here is that Yale is unfortunately located in a terrible location. when my kiddo visited for YES scholars we walked out to our rental car's broken windows. thank god he got into other schools. no use sugarcoating it. if you go to school in new haven, prepare to be robbed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's fine to apply to any school she would truly consider over the one she was already admitted to.

Emphasis on the truly consider.

If she would truly consider the other schools she intends to apply to, then nothing wrong with that.
If she's doing it to collect gold stars, highly discourage.

[Anonymous]

A friend got into HYPSM REA back in the day and withdrew their RD applications to a couple other selective schools “to give other people a chance”. We didn’t think much of it then, but from the viewpoint of today’s admissions climate, they did the classy thing.

[Anonymous]

Do what you want but stop talking about it!

At some point, it's just bragging

Or suffer people being angry at you.

[Anonymous]

Unlike ED, REA allows you to apply to any school in the regular round (and apply EA to public colleges). If they punish your school for doing something entirely consistent with the application agreement, that’s their problem! It makes total sense for a 17yo to be not 100% sure about her college choice!