Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

For parents of younger students, please take this post as a cautionary tale about valuing gaining admission to the “best” school a kid can possibly get into over. focusing first and foremost on fit. This story is pretty common

I think that you misunderstand this thread. Seems that the applicant regrets loss of chance at prestige, not fit.

OP here - Yes, that's right, the PP is offbase. DC was very focused on fit overall in their search so both schools would have fit. The school not applied to (HYPSM) is very high prestige and would have been a decent fit. The ED1 school that DC was accepted to is still well-regarded but isn't HYPSM. It seems like a perfect fit.

So this is a story about a kid who valued fit over prestige but now wonders if they could have gotten into HYPSM.

Anonymous wrote:Your kid probably wasn’t getting into the high reach and now doesn’t have to go through the rejection. It’s a win win.

OP here - you're probably correct. But DC was a double legacy at high reach and is an excellent applicant so you never know.

My kid’s ED remorse was about going with the “wrong” school (and getting rejected). Kid had long loved a LAC with ED1 and ED2, then toured a high-reach school with ED1 only and LOVED it. Decided that’s where they wanted to ED. Odds were always very long, but the preference for one over the other was clear (and kid knew they had ED2 for the #2 school).

Rejected ED from high-reach school and immediately felt significant regret about not going ED1 to the LAC. This kid likes closure, so knowing they might have had that in mid-December with the LAC caused some real second-guessing. They also felt like going with the high-reach the first round meant they eliminated two chances at ED at more likely schools (the #2 and another LAC that’s #3 and has two rounds of ED).

I told the kid I was proud they took a chance on the high-reach (kid is cautious by nature and not competitive, so “going for it” with the top 10 was a stretch) and that they almost certainly WOULD have felt regret if they had decided to go the perceived safe route with the LAC in ED1.

So now they can ED2 to the LAC knowing they gave the top choice a shot. The LAC is very selective so no guarantee, but I think if they get in, they will feel much more confident about and happy with their choice than if they had done it ED1. And if they don’t, they’ve gotten into a few good EAs with merit and still have the #3 in RD, where they probably have a decent shot.

I think the most important thing is that kids know themselves and not over-game things. There are lots of possible outcomes, and you can’t know how you might feel in each of them.

Anonymous wrote:I know several kids like this.

I don't understand the "ED let us enjoy senior year". Really, all kids have to mostly finish all apps in case ED doesn't work out. At our HS, you sort of have to have them done by Dec 1. So I get that there may be a couple supplemental essays to do over xmas if you don't do ED (or if it doesn't work out), but otherwise, you're done either way.

Then you enjoy your senior year! The RD pool is exciting. You gets Yeses and Nos usually, but nearly always a few of each. For the first time, the power shifts to the kid. Colleges are courting you with lots of overnights and local events. You get to compare financial packages. It's great.

I've had kids do ED and RD and I prefer the RD experience

Thanks for this. My kid didn’t ED1/2 and very few if the schools he applied to had EA- just the EDs. It’s a longer wait, but he’s in a great mood now that midterms are over and the stress of school is off his back now. He has an UW 4.0 and I keep telling him now he can kick back- obviously not tank grades but next semester and summer are all about fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMDCP has an excellent economics department, which is T20 for that field and is not a stretch like HYPS.

without hooks HYPS is a crapshoot

It’s not even a crapshoot. It’s a source of revenue. How many fee waivers do HYPS hand out?

A few people make a lot of money from the HYPS mania machine.

Anonymous wrote:UMDCP has an excellent economics department, which is T20 for that field and is not a stretch like HYPS.

without hooks HYPS is a crapshoot

UMDCP has an excellent economics department, which is T20 for that field and is not a stretch like HYPS.

Anonymous wrote:We know several kids that applied to WashU RD last year and were denied. Significantly lower stat student from the same school was admitted ED. One data point, but interesting nonetheless.

Not picking on WashU, but ED is more about parents’ ability to pay and matriculation rates than anything to do with the student. Whole groups of students-legacies, recruited athletes- who are typically full pay are pushed to apply ED. It’s not an accident that Harvard’s classes are all 50% full pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

For parents of younger students, please take this post as a cautionary tale about valuing gaining admission to the “best” school a kid can possibly get into over. focusing first and foremost on fit. This story is pretty common

I think that you misunderstand this thread. Seems that the applicant regrets loss of chance at prestige, not fit.

Anonymous wrote:Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

For parents of younger students, please take this post as a cautionary tale about valuing gaining admission to the “best” school a kid can possibly get into over. focusing first and foremost on fit. This story is pretty common

Anonymous wrote:Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

There may be an out if the EA admissions are to in-state public schools.

I'll share Groucho Marx' thought on ED admissions:

"I don't want to join any club that would have me as a member."

Anonymous wrote:Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

The way out of ED is if the financial aid package is unaffordable.

What changed since Nov 1?

Is there anyway to get out of ED? We are suffering from deep buyers remorse. Problem is, got some rolling admissions that seem like a better fit.

No regrets. Happy to have the stupid process over with and delighted with the outcome. Get on with it.