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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OK I read a little more carefully and I think what you are saying is that if she ED’s to a highly selective college and doesn’t get in then she will have wasted her ED option. Is that what you mean? That she would be better off doing early decision to a less selective college because it guarantees her a spot where she is more likely to be admitted? I don’t really see the appeal of that given I think she would be very happy at Dickinson or Franklin and Marshall. I think she would want to try to get into one of the others. She has a really solid record and she will have glowing recommendations. She has shown discipline and commitment in a number of areas and looking at a major that more women are needed for. None of that guarantees anything of course and it is essentially a lottery for kids like her but I can’t see her locking into a less desirable option just to avoid being rejected to the more selective ones. Let’s be honest, college is what you make of it and she is likely to get into something good on this list.

Good call on whoever said Towson non-dance majors can’t take conservatory classes. It’s true and that has now come off our list. Groan. [/quote]

I think there are some people in this forum who have a whole ED strategy that they stand by. I don't believe in it, though. Unless it's your kid's first choice, don't do ED! And don't waste energy thinking through this whole thing. Just EA to as many as have that option, and hope for the best. Read ED regret threads, and ED buyer's remorse posts. Don't do it for a school that your child isn't 100% passionate about over all others. [/quote]

This is profoundly bad advice that no college counselor would offer. College admissions is a cut-throat game. If you are focused on LACs, about half of all students are admitted ED. If you apply ED, you seriously improve your chances because the college knows you are a sure thing. Don’t waste your mental energy? How absurd. You’ve been investing mental energy into positioning your children for success for 17 years. Why stop now because it’s mildly complicated. At a minimum this student should apply ED to reach schools that would be a no brainer that they want to go to. But I think it’s also a good idea to contemplate ED to somewhat less competitive schools that the student would also love to attend after visiting and thinking it through. A decision will have to be made at some point anyway. If one is nervous about selling oneself short, one could apply ED1 to a dream reach and then ED2 to a low reach. It really depends on how the kid feels about the different options. I don’t think you want to be completely dependent on the mercies of the RD gods. RD is fairly haphazard. All things being equal, you are much more likely to get into a reach or a target ED than RD. Don’t let the challenge of making a potentially difficult decision cause you to bury your head in the sand. [/quote]

Maybe I've missed it in the thread but has OP said money is not at all a consideration? Top ranked LACs only give need aid. Run the net price calculators. If they are going to cost you $80k and you can't/don't want to pay that then there is no reason to play the ED game with those schools. If you need merit, you'd want to look lower down in the rankings where your kid would be a top student, in which case you don't need to ED and are better off doing EA to several schools so you can compare offers.

ED strategy for highly selective schools is for the wealthy or those with low enough income/assets that they will get substantial aid.[/quote]

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