Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, early action seemed like the lottery this year too. So many kids applying EA to the schools that have it (UVA, Michigan, UChicago, etc), and those schools ended up deferring a ton. Your kid will be MUCH better off finding a realistic school and applying ED. Best way to go.

EA is not binding. Bad advice not to apply to EA schools.

If your DC is interested in LACs, then some of the Midwestern ones have EA. If your DC is high(ish) stats and full pay, then there is a chance your DC may hear by mid-December. Drexel has EA and DC heard back from them before receiving ED response. Some of my friends' DCs applied to IU and Pitt as soon as the doors were open as they crank out their replies, though I understand that both have become a little more competitive in recent years. Also heard that Pitt's merit aid is not as generous as it was even one and two years ago.

The college counseling office at our DCs' school was pretty good and they both had the strongest advisors in the offices. Both DCs had good lists, including EAs.

ED is probably the best shot, but don't leave EA apps unsent in the portal.

Anonymous wrote:The safeties will likely have early action.

This was true for my kid. Schools that he applied to with higher than 30% acceptance rate (last year) all happened to have early action. The more selective schools he applied to, liberal arts colleges, did not.

OP there are many schools with EA. You can google a list - Villanova, Providence, Michigan, UVA, Wisconsin, UNC CH, Richmond etc etc
Keep in mind tho that the chief advantage of EA is finding out early BUT acceptance rates in the EA round are not much better than RD.
good luck!

Also find a rolling admissions school like Pitt, so you have a solid option locked in early.

Anonymous wrote:Have been spending time with my DS looking over schools he might find interesting. Matching geographic locations, preference on campus environment, majors, etc. Coming up with a list of reaches, competitive (which with percentages so low are really also "tier 2 reaches" and some higher acceptance schools).

Thought he would have some nice options but just finding that most of the schools he is interested in have Early Decision only or Regular Admission. With your changes of getting in dropping dramatically in Regular. I though everyone applied early? We thought he could apply to a bunch early action and then make a decision. But it seems like you can only pick one ED, apply early to one or two that have it available and the rest are regular and you might as well play the lottery.

Am I missing something?

Early Action is non-binding, and is least restrictive. Many public schools and state flagships offer EA.

Restricted Early Action (REA) is slightly more restrictive and the rules vary by college. Colleges that allow REA typically limit you from applying to other private colleges, unless the private colleges offer scholarships only to EA candidates in which case you can apply to those also.

ED is the most restrictive and contractually obligates you to accept if you are offered an admission. So you can't ED to multiple colleges at the same time. Some colleges offer multiple ED cycles (ED1, ED2 etc).

This is what we did for our DS -

In the first wave, we applied REA to Stanford, and EA to a bunch of public schools (UMD, UMich, UW-Madison, Purdue etc) and USC (scholarship requirement)
In the second wave we did RD to multiple Ivy's, CMU, and WashU

Schools want to lock in kids as early as possible to increase yield and get the most full pay students. It sucks for the kids and families that need to compare aid packages.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, early action seemed like the lottery this year too. So many kids applying EA to the schools that have it (UVA, Michigan, UChicago, etc), and those schools ended up deferring a ton. Your kid will be MUCH better off finding a realistic school and applying ED. Best way to go.

EA is not binding. Bad advice not to apply to EA schools.

Some of the southern public schools have EA that comes out in early December — Clemson, Georgia, Auburn.

You need to do EA at most public schools to be eligible for merit. Unfortunately, decisions for those don't come out until all RD applications are due.

Also, keep in mind that ED includes athletes that may have had pre-reads, so that will drive up the acceptance rate. But ED is the way to go at most schools if your kid really loves it.

It's a frustrating process and lots of work.

Anecdotal data, but my son was accepted EA or RD to target and safety schools that have a 28-60ish% acceptance rate (out of state William & Mary with a 28% acceptance rate was a Regular Decision app). He was deferred or rejected from 9-12% acceptance rate schools, EA and RD.

For us, the timing of the application did not seem to matter as much as the general selectivity of the school.

The safeties will likely have early action.

OP, note, EA for Michigan and Wisconsin, an applicant used to hear before the holidays, but now it is late January, so be advised that you still want to find some options where you will hear before the holidays so you know how to adjust the RD list if necessary.

A lot of public universities and second tier privates have early action. Maybe you’re only looking into highly competitive colleges that aren’t public? Would highly recommend somewhere like Michigan State or Penn State. If you apply in early, you can have a decision by November - they’re basically rolling.

Honestly, early action seemed like the lottery this year too. So many kids applying EA to the schools that have it (UVA, Michigan, UChicago, etc), and those schools ended up deferring a ton. Your kid will be MUCH better off finding a realistic school and applying ED. Best way to go.

Have been spending time with my DS looking over schools he might find interesting. Matching geographic locations, preference on campus environment, majors, etc. Coming up with a list of reaches, competitive (which with percentages so low are really also "tier 2 reaches" and some higher acceptance schools).

Thought he would have some nice options but just finding that most of the schools he is interested in have Early Decision only or Regular Admission. With your changes of getting in dropping dramatically in Regular. I though everyone applied early? We thought he could apply to a bunch early action and then make a decision. But it seems like you can only pick one ED, apply early to one or two that have it available and the rest are regular and you might as well play the lottery.

Am I missing something?