Anonymous wrote:The kind of game theory families are pushed into is, IMHO, one of the worst things about this process, which is loaded with bad things.

But keeping it to a simple formula can help:

1. It is a clear first choice.
2. It is affordable.

It can get more complicated, especially for the highest achieving students and when considering SCEA/REA schools in the mix. But that should be it for most.

My strong opinion is the best "non-hook" angle a student can have is full-pay, ED at a need-aware school. If you are a full pay family, and the kid's first choice has ED, you need to use that.

I agree with this and would add that I'd definitely encourage ED if my kid wanted a selective SLAC. These schools are so small, get tons of applications right now, and are filing most of their classes with ED applicants. It is a numbers game and much tougher for these schools in RD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A family friend in CA whose DD went through the process last year is an example of what not to do.

DD was 4.0 UW GPA, 1590 SAT, 10+ APs, and Asian, full pay, Duke and Michigan legacy.

DD applied ED to Brown because that was her dream school and was denied.

However, if it had been my own DC, I would have pushed for Duke in ED and be done with it, as that would have been the best strategic use of the ED. Brown was a reach for her.

She was admitted in RD to WashU, Amherst, Georgetown, Duke, Michigan, UNC, Carleton and went to one of these schools on a full-ride merit scholarship, so I don't feel bad for her outcome. But the process was very stressful for a few months.

Disagree. I agree with the earlier poster that you should do ED only if you have a clear first choice. Sounds like she had enough stats for Brown to buy a lottery ticket and see what happens. Brown is a reach for everyone but I wouldn’t push my kid to apply ED to Duke if Brown was their dream school and they had a shot, especially because are very different schools.

Yes, a lot depends on the temperament of the student, and relationship with parents. For example, my relationship with my DC is....tenuous, at times. If I pushed DC forego Brown, in order to ED Duke (my Alma Mater), and DC was accepted, and obliged to matriculate....I could count on hearing for the rest of my life that DC’s life is intolerable bc Duke A, B, C and D. Especially since Brown and Duke have such different images.

Obviously, some students are much more reasonable, or at least willing to take into account parental views.

(NB: Duke is not my Alma Mater, and the one relative I have who went there *absolutely* adored it.)

The kind of game theory families are pushed into is, IMHO, one of the worst things about this process, which is loaded with bad things.

But keeping it to a simple formula can help:

1. It is a clear first choice.
2. It is affordable.

It can get more complicated, especially for the highest achieving students and when considering SCEA/REA schools in the mix. But that should be it for most.

My strong opinion is the best "non-hook" angle a student can have is full-pay, ED at a need-aware school. If you are a full pay family, and the kid's first choice has ED, you need to use that.

Anonymous wrote:ED is best used for a school that is within reach but not a shoe-in.

This was DS’s approach this year (22).


He is an unhooked cisgender white male from a very affluent zip code, attending a nationally known private school. Full pay. It “helped” him that he genuinely was uninterested in HY or S - so he didn’t waste time contemplating using (wasting) ED1 or 2 there. Ditto any other Ivy except Princeton for one specific major. Reasoning that the odds for a P admit were beyond long (due to impressive and legacy classmates), DS focused on other top schools with his major where his stats were their > 50%-tile. These all had admit rates < 10% last year, so he understood the odds

Anonymous wrote:A family friend in CA whose DD went through the process last year is an example of what not to do.

DD was 4.0 UW GPA, 1590 SAT, 10+ APs, and Asian, full pay, Duke and Michigan legacy.

DD applied ED to Brown because that was her dream school and was denied.

However, if it had been my own DC, I would have pushed for Duke in ED and be done with it, as that would have been the best strategic use of the ED. Brown was a reach for her.

She was admitted in RD to WashU, Amherst, Georgetown, Duke, Michigan, UNC, Carleton and went to one of these schools on a full-ride merit scholarship, so I don't feel bad for her outcome. But the process was very stressful for a few months.

Disagree. I agree with the earlier poster that you should do ED only if you have a clear first choice. Sounds like she had enough stats for Brown to buy a lottery ticket and see what happens. Brown is a reach for everyone but I wouldn’t push my kid to apply ED to Duke if Brown was their dream school and they had a shot, especially because are very different schools.

We did a lot of college tours this year with our rising senior.
Found one school that we all love and can do full pay.
Went to 3 events of that one school through the Fall and talked to students and admissions officers.
This school started off as a reach at the beginning of Junior year but now towards the end of Junior year, DC definitely has the stats to get accepted even at RD, since school was no EA.

On one hand, yes, it would be good to see what other acceptances would look like. I think DC could get bigger merit scholarships in other schools. But, there isn't any other school that even comes in 2nd place.

I did ask DC if they would do ED or not.
DC said definitely ED.
Given all the above, it would be a great plus to be done with the college decision in November.
DC will have one less (huge) thing to worry about the rest of senior year.

We are going to go on more tours this summer just to make sure.

My DD applied ED to Northwestern and got in. Regular admittance is something like 11% and ED acceptance is 25%. We were full pay.

A family friend in CA whose DD went through the process last year is an example of what not to do.

DD was 4.0 UW GPA, 1590 SAT, 10+ APs, and Asian, full pay, Duke and Michigan legacy.

DD applied ED to Brown because that was her dream school and was denied.

However, if it had been my own DC, I would have pushed for Duke in ED and be done with it, as that would have been the best strategic use of the ED. Brown was a reach for her.

She was admitted in RD to WashU, Amherst, Georgetown, Duke, Michigan, UNC, Carleton and went to one of these schools on a full-ride merit scholarship, so I don't feel bad for her outcome. But the process was very stressful for a few months.

There is an older thread on this worth searching for because it has some thoughtful answers.

Basically, depends on how risk averse your kid is was my take away.

Anonymous wrote:From my experience this year, do ED only if your kid has a clear top choice that you can afford. Even then, know that your kid might change their mind -- ED deadlines are so early and it's hard to be so sure about college at that point.

My DC did have a clear top choice that we could afford, applied ED and got in, and then regretted it. They are feeling better about the school now that the application cycle is over and they watched many friends get rejected from top choices. But they say they will still always wonder "what if" about other schools. I will definitely think twice about ED for DC2.

My DS did ED to his top choice (for like his whole life) and never regretted it, although when we were driving home for christmas break, I asked him if he had any regrets. The only thing he said was he wondered if he could have gotten into a better school, but then he quickly said but we wouldn't have been able to afford it, and that was that. fast forward to end of the second semester and he's totally in love with his school choice. There's always going to be a "what if" when you don't roll the dice, but there is something to be said for taking the conservative route and ending up at a school you're happy and fulfilled at.

From my experience this year, do ED only if your kid has a clear top choice that you can afford. Even then, know that your kid might change their mind -- ED deadlines are so early and it's hard to be so sure about college at that point.

My DC did have a clear top choice that we could afford, applied ED and got in, and then regretted it. They are feeling better about the school now that the application cycle is over and they watched many friends get rejected from top choices. But they say they will still always wonder "what if" about other schools. I will definitely think twice about ED for DC2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those recently thru the applications cycle - in retrospect, what do you feel is the best use of a binding early application? With regular decision acceptances seemingly very low, and so many schools looking to secure early candidates... is it smart to be practical and apply ED to a great school within stats where likelihood of ED acceptance is good, but whose RD acceptance rate is low (and give up hope of going to top choice reach), or to that top choice reach? Reach meaning also within stats but a reach for everyone bc of extremely low admission rate (ED rate better). OR student. Decision personal of course but interested in hearing thoughts from you. Thanks!

Don’t base your “smart” ED strategy on the comparison of the ED and RD rates. The perceived advantage of ED is often an illusion for unhooked applicants.

This. Plus you can’t have regrets. Don’t have your kid apply to a school he isn’t excited about because you think he has a better shot. If he gets in, it’s binding so you don’t want him wondering “what if.”

ED is best used for a school that is within reach but not a shoe-in.

Anonymous wrote:For those recently thru the applications cycle - in retrospect, what do you feel is the best use of a binding early application? With regular decision acceptances seemingly very low, and so many schools looking to secure early candidates... is it smart to be practical and apply ED to a great school within stats where likelihood of ED acceptance is good, but whose RD acceptance rate is low (and give up hope of going to top choice reach), or to that top choice reach? Reach meaning also within stats but a reach for everyone bc of extremely low admission rate (ED rate better). OR student. Decision personal of course but interested in hearing thoughts from you. Thanks!

Don’t base your “smart” ED strategy on the comparison of the ED and RD rates. The perceived advantage of ED is often an illusion for unhooked applicants.

For those recently thru the applications cycle - in retrospect, what do you feel is the best use of a binding early application? With regular decision acceptances seemingly very low, and so many schools looking to secure early candidates... is it smart to be practical and apply ED to a great school within stats where likelihood of ED acceptance is good, but whose RD acceptance rate is low (and give up hope of going to top choice reach), or to that top choice reach? Reach meaning also within stats but a reach for everyone bc of extremely low admission rate (ED rate better). OR student. Decision personal of course but interested in hearing thoughts from you. Thanks!