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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote][quote=Anonymous]And don't apply anywhere ED.  (Unless you want to risk paying pay full sticker price if your kid is admitted).  Many of these schools have an EA program, but you'll probably be applying early anyway (September, October, as I advise above. [/quote]

I think you are the same person posting this again, but this is TERRIBLE advice given broadly, particularly for a competitive admissions situation.  Run the NPCs in advance for any college and if it is affordable and your first choice you definitely want to apply ED.  If the actual offer is less than the NPC -- even by a small amount -- you will be let out of the ED agreement with no penalty to you or your high school.

If you choose to shop merit, that is another consideration, but there is NO RISK in applying ED if you know in advance what the costs will be and they are within budget.

Is it reasonable to believe that one school is the absolute perfect fit, better in every respect than all others?  Doubtful.[/quote]

Disagree 100%.  For some kids, it absolutely is.  I understand that for some students it will not matter, but those are unlikely to get merit aid at competitive schools.

[quote]Isn't it better to apply to an array of suitable schools, and be able, therefore, to compare offers?  Who knows? --  one of them might give you a full-ride, or a full-tuition merit scholarship.[/quote]

If you think that's a lottery ticket type thing, where you take your chance, then you don't understand merit aid at all.  If you think all educational experiences are the same for all students, and your dollars are the same at one school as the next, then you are in a very small minority.

[quote]So, you foreclose any number of opportunities if you apply ED.  When you apply ED, you agree in advance to go there if admitted, and to withdraw any and all applications elsewhere -- so you'll never know what might have been offered elsewhere.
[/quote]

Assuming the numbers are exactly where you expect them, then everyone wins.  If they are not, you are let out of the agreement, so you do know.

[quote]
Applying ED is a bad negotiating strategy.  You surrender all the leverage, in advance, to the college.  It's just my opinion (of course), but it strikes me as a chump move.  (But the colleges love it, for obvious reasons).[/quote]

It isn't a negotiation.  You're not buying real estate.

This are the facts:

- What is affordable to you is known in advance of your search
- If cost is an issue finding affordable schools is a thousand times more effective than hunting merit aid
- You can know the need based aid you will get 100% using the NPC and the merit based aid you will get as likely. 
- [b]At competitive schools ED gives you a large advantage that you waste if you don't apply[/b]
- If you are not applying to schools which are competitive for your stats and standing then yes ED does not benefit you - but ONLY then, and most students apply with the reach-match-safety approach
- Applying ED does not mean you won't get merit aid.  My kid got merit aid from his NESCAC admit ED.
[/quote]

Hmmm.  If ED is such a great thing, why have some of the most elite schools eliminated it?[/quote]

The fact that you are asking this question shows your lack of understanding about it.

HYPSM eliminated ED because it provides little value to them as their yields are already high.  They'd like everyone else to eliminate it also.  FYI they have bounced back and forth over this issue as other schools did not follow suit.

But schools just below that tier get a huge benefit from it as desirable students commit to them.  In return, they are admitted at a higher rate - yes, even when adjusted for athletes and legacies.

And to be clear, I am not claiming ED as a concept is awesome -- in fact a world without it might be better for all -- but while it exists, I am claiming that ED offers substantial admissions advantages to competitive students at competitive schools that should not be ignored.[/quote]

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