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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We're looking at this as a two-stage process.  Initially, two apps -- one EA private and one flagship public.  If DC gets into the private, we may be done.  If DC gets into public but not private, then DC will apply only to schools that sound even better than this really good option (my guess is 3-4).  If DC gets into neither, then we could be looking at a larger number of apps.

While I whole-heartedly agree that even an applicant with top credentials should not just apply to HYPS, I don't see why that applicant shouldn't apply to all those schools plus any other highly selective school s/he would like to attend.  That would be in addition to (rather than instead of) applying to good schools where the admission stats look much more favorable.[/quote]In addition to ED, would you do early action then regular decision to avoid the large number of apps?[/quote]

ED makes sense ONLY for students who are full-pay or close to it, or for students with an EFC their families can afford applying to a school that pledges to meet 100% need. If your student does't fall into one of these categories, forget it.[/quote]

ED also makes sense if you want to turn a reach into a target. The admission standards ED are not as rigorous. At some schools fully 50% of the first-year class is selected during the ED process. That makes getting in via the regular admission process even that much more selective - a point that's lost on many. ED can be tough, though, because many 17-18 year-olds aren't ready to make a final decision at the beginning of the college admissions process. [/quote]

I'd put that a bit differently.  Not applying ED in some cases (e.g. Northwestern) can turn matches into reaches.  It's not that  EA/ED has lower standards -- it's that certain categories (legacy admits at some Ivies) get filled in the first round and/or that the school cares about yield and is using an unambiguous expression of interest as an admissions criterion for highly-qualified students who seem likely to have prestigious alternatives.  It would suck to admit a bunch of kids who just see your school as a safety and then to waitlist equally qualified kids who really want to be there.  Basically, schools -- like applicants -- are looking for matches too. [/quote]

I'm not sure your statement that ED doesn't have lower standards is true. And I'm not talking by much, but with admissions being so competitive, little nudges can help - especially if you are a girl at a non-STEM school, an Asian or among the vast hordes without a hook (recruited athlete, legacy, URM, first generation, nationally recognized talent). I'm not saying that the ED students are undeserving and aren't a match with the schools general profile by any means. But in the game where very small differences can be the difference between a thick and a thin letter, ED can and does make a difference. I wonder if there's any data on this topic that I'm not aware of. [/quote]

I agree that ED/EA can make a positive difference wrt outcome for a particular individual at a particular school -- what I'm disputing is whether it does so by lowering standards for early admittees.  Basically, there are often many more qualified candidates than there are spots and applicants with identical qualifications experience different outcomes.  These are built-in features of the current system and would exist even if EA/ED didn't exist.  What EA/ED does (among other things) is introduce a new rationing principle -- applicants who apply first/apply exclusively/are willing to commit without hearing from other schools get first shot at spaces for candidates like them (however defined).  In a situation where there's a real risk that virtually all the slots for a candidate like them could be allocated in the first round, EA/ED raises the bar for such candidates in the RD round.

So, yes, do EA -- it helps.  And choose wisely where to spend your chip because you often only get one.  
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Only ED or SCEA helps. EA is only early notification and doesn't signal any commitment to the college [/quote]

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