Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both offer ED2, so she should apply to her preferred school ED1, plan to file to the other ED2, and have a Plan C (St. Lawrence? Whitman?) she'd be excited about.

I think she’s going to end up disappointed with this approach. I’d choose one for ED1 and then go for a more reasonable ED2. It’s really easy to get boxed out from the small lacs if you’re not in at ED. Middlebury is larger so I think it’s the better bet. Coming from a private and with athletics as her ec, she’s really not bringing much diversity from all the athletic recruits.

Exactly. Good friend's DC applied ED1 for one of those two last cycle then to a very slightly less competitive for ED2 and was boxed out - denied not just deferred - at both. Think GPA higher than OP's DC and had good test scores.

Our full pay DC had a similar (maybe slightly lower) GPA, a 34 ACT, two varsity sports but not captain, and very impressive ECs (not national level but definitely showed continuity in and connection among them). His school CC - also the office director - dissuaded DC from applying ED to one of these schools. Said that DC would get deferred in ED1 then denied in RD and asked if that is how DC wanted the ED card to play out.

If OP's DC will be unhappy if they do not try, then risk it on Middlebury as I strongly doubt Bowdoin will even consider. But then they need to have a good list in the three categories, some probable EAs, and be ready to go ED2 with a lower ranked school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both offer ED2, so she should apply to her preferred school ED1, plan to file to the other ED2, and have a Plan C (St. Lawrence? Whitman?) she'd be excited about.

I think she’s going to end up disappointed with this approach. I’d choose one for ED1 and then go for a more reasonable ED2. It’s really easy to get boxed out from the small lacs if you’re not in at ED. Middlebury is larger so I think it’s the better bet. Coming from a private and with athletics as her ec, she’s really not bringing much diversity from all the athletic recruits.

Exactly. Good friend's DC applied ED1 for one of those two last cycle then to a very slightly less competitive for ED2 and was boxed out - denied not just deferred - at both. Think GPA higher than OP's DC and had good test scores.

Our full pay DC had a similar (maybe slightly lower) GPA, a 34 ACT, two varsity sports but not captain, and very impressive ECs (not national level but definitely showed continuity in and connection among them). His school CC - also the office director - dissuaded DC from applying ED to one of these schools. Said that DC would get deferred in ED1 then denied in RD and asked if that is how DC wanted the ED card to play out.

If OP's DC will be unhappy if they do not try, then risk it on Middlebury as I strongly doubt Bowdoin will even consider. But then they need to have a good list in the three categories, some probable EAs, and be ready to go ED2 with a lower ranked school.

Make a concrete ED2 suggestion. The only LACs I can think of that are similar to Midd and Bowdoin but more selective than St. Lawrence and Whitman are Colby and Hamilton--neither of which is a meaningfully easier admit than Midd or Bowdoin. (I suppose maybe Kenyon, but that's a significantly different locale.) Since DD will get admitted to St. Lawrence and/or Whitman RD, why not spend her ED bullets on her actual first and second choices?

Anonymous wrote:Colgate

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both offer ED2, so she should apply to her preferred school ED1, plan to file to the other ED2, and have a Plan C (St. Lawrence? Whitman?) she'd be excited about.

I think she’s going to end up disappointed with this approach. I’d choose one for ED1 and then go for a more reasonable ED2. It’s really easy to get boxed out from the small lacs if you’re not in at ED. Middlebury is larger so I think it’s the better bet. Coming from a private and with athletics as her ec, she’s really not bringing much diversity from all the athletic recruits.

Exactly. Good friend's DC applied ED1 for one of those two last cycle then to a very slightly less competitive for ED2 and was boxed out - denied not just deferred - at both. Think GPA higher than OP's DC and had good test scores.

Our full pay DC had a similar (maybe slightly lower) GPA, a 34 ACT, two varsity sports but not captain, and very impressive ECs (not national level but definitely showed continuity in and connection among them). His school CC - also the office director - dissuaded DC from applying ED to one of these schools. Said that DC would get deferred in ED1 then denied in RD and asked if that is how DC wanted the ED card to play out.

If OP's DC will be unhappy if they do not try, then risk it on Middlebury as I strongly doubt Bowdoin will even consider. But then they need to have a good list in the three categories, some probable EAs, and be ready to go ED2 with a lower ranked school.

Make a concrete ED2 suggestion. The only LACs I can think of that are similar to Midd and Bowdoin but more selective than St. Lawrence and Whitman are Colby and Hamilton--neither of which is a meaningfully easier admit than Midd or Bowdoin. (I suppose maybe Kenyon, but that's a significantly different locale.) Since DD will get admitted to St. Lawrence and/or Whitman RD, why not spend her ED bullets on her actual first and second choices?

Not that PP but was also thinking of Colby and Hamilton but still quite competitive. I think those would be better ED1 choices in terms of chances. I’d look at Bates and Colgate and maybe Wesleyan. I think she has a good shot at Kenyon for RD if she visits in person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colgate

+1 also maybe Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell

FGDaddio wrote:This information is available for class of 2025 through the common data sets. The CDS have not been released for class of 2026 yet.

Bowdoin: RD 9% (852/9325) ED 263/960 27.4%

Middlebury: RD 13.4% 1601/11906 They break it down somewhat by ED1 and ED2 in terms of how many were accepted for each round, but not how many applied for each round (only the total that applied combined for ED1 and ED2). So 960 students total applied over both ED rounds, and 425 were admitted. That's an acceptance rate of 45%. However, of those, 380 were admitted in ED1 so clearly that's where the real bump is (but we don't know how many applied for ED2 vs ED1 so you can't extrapolate that rate). It would seem that if you want to do ED1, Middlebury is the more accepting school.

Anonymous wrote:

FGDaddio wrote:This information is available for class of 2025 through the common data sets. The CDS have not been released for class of 2026 yet.

Bowdoin: RD 9% (852/9325) ED 263/960 27.4%

Middlebury: RD 13.4% 1601/11906 They break it down somewhat by ED1 and ED2 in terms of how many were accepted for each round, but not how many applied for each round (only the total that applied combined for ED1 and ED2). So 960 students total applied over both ED rounds, and 425 were admitted. That's an acceptance rate of 45%. However, of those, 380 were admitted in ED1 so clearly that's where the real bump is (but we don't know how many applied for ED2 vs ED1 so you can't extrapolate that rate). It would seem that if you want to do ED1, Middlebury is the more accepting school.

This is the best answer to the question. If she has equal preference for either school....use the ED for Middlebury based on that analysis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

FGDaddio wrote:This information is available for class of 2025 through the common data sets. The CDS have not been released for class of 2026 yet.

Bowdoin: RD 9% (852/9325) ED 263/960 27.4%

Middlebury: RD 13.4% 1601/11906 They break it down somewhat by ED1 and ED2 in terms of how many were accepted for each round, but not how many applied for each round (only the total that applied combined for ED1 and ED2). So 960 students total applied over both ED rounds, and 425 were admitted. That's an acceptance rate of 45%. However, of those, 380 were admitted in ED1 so clearly that's where the real bump is (but we don't know how many applied for ED2 vs ED1 so you can't extrapolate that rate). It would seem that if you want to do ED1, Middlebury is the more accepting school.

This is the best answer to the question. If she has equal preference for either school....use the ED for Middlebury based on that analysis.

Agree, but I know 2 kids rejected at Middlebury this last cycle: higher GPAs than OP's DC, both submitted high test scores (know the parents of one and DC good friends with the other), and one a sibling legacy as well as a PoC. Both rejected.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

FGDaddio wrote:This information is available for class of 2025 through the common data sets. The CDS have not been released for class of 2026 yet.

Bowdoin: RD 9% (852/9325) ED 263/960 27.4%

Middlebury: RD 13.4% 1601/11906 They break it down somewhat by ED1 and ED2 in terms of how many were accepted for each round, but not how many applied for each round (only the total that applied combined for ED1 and ED2). So 960 students total applied over both ED rounds, and 425 were admitted. That's an acceptance rate of 45%. However, of those, 380 were admitted in ED1 so clearly that's where the real bump is (but we don't know how many applied for ED2 vs ED1 so you can't extrapolate that rate). It would seem that if you want to do ED1, Middlebury is the more accepting school.

This is the best answer to the question. If she has equal preference for either school....use the ED for Middlebury based on that analysis.

Agree, but I know 2 kids rejected at Middlebury this last cycle: higher GPAs than OP's DC, both submitted high test scores (know the parents of one and DC good friends with the other), and one a sibling legacy as well as a PoC. Both rejected.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

FGDaddio wrote:This information is available for class of 2025 through the common data sets. The CDS have not been released for class of 2026 yet.

Bowdoin: RD 9% (852/9325) ED 263/960 27.4%

Middlebury: RD 13.4% 1601/11906 They break it down somewhat by ED1 and ED2 in terms of how many were accepted for each round, but not how many applied for each round (only the total that applied combined for ED1 and ED2). So 960 students total applied over both ED rounds, and 425 were admitted. That's an acceptance rate of 45%. However, of those, 380 were admitted in ED1 so clearly that's where the real bump is (but we don't know how many applied for ED2 vs ED1 so you can't extrapolate that rate). It would seem that if you want to do ED1, Middlebury is the more accepting school.

This is the best answer to the question. If she has equal preference for either school....use the ED for Middlebury based on that analysis.

Agree, but I know 2 kids rejected at Middlebury this last cycle: higher GPAs than OP's DC, both submitted high test scores (know the parents of one and DC good friends with the other), and one a sibling legacy as well as a PoC. Both rejected.