I think the list is fine. I see a lot of similarities.

I think some people get hung up on the small vs medium sizes, but my kids was okay with both too.

These schools all have an individual feel. Some kids go looking for a POV and have a bunch of schools that offer that once, similar experience. Some kids go looking for a place where when you're there, you're there.

My own kid had a bunch of those on their list.

If kid is coming from a really competitive private and doesn't think their app will stand out in any way, talk to the counselor about what path is less crowded that year.

Anonymous wrote:Unhooked.

Boy, full pay, Econ (but could apply as history if that helps, has a ton of history EC), private, 3.8+, 1520

What would be EA or ED strategy w that list?

Any waters? Anything special? Unique?
Where do 3.8uw generally go from your school?

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Anonymous wrote:No advantage EA at Georgetown. UChicago has the best Econ program hands down. Ed1 at UChicago. The rest, no need for ED2, I would just RD them all and decide on which one based on acceptance.

This may be the worst strategy possible. These are all reaches and OP's stats are mediocre for the colleges they're interested in.

Are you kidding? Mediocre?


I don’t see obvious weakness in his stats.

I didn't say he was weak, just not remarkable, especially for admission to top colleges in the US. Your strategy is gonna get this kid steamrolled.

+1, I'm a bit shocked by how optimistic everyone else is. He has okay stats.

+1. There is an element of chance to all of this, but this profile could definitely be rejected from all of these. Especially a kid from DMV private school. Mine had stats similar to this. Better SAT, better GPA, team captain etc. In at ND EA (from a Catholic HS), rejected at others on this list.

Nephew was rejected at UChicago with 1600 SAT.

Maybe he will get in, maybe he won’t. But he should also have other options in mind.

When we visited WashU the focus seemed heavily weighted toward IT/comp sci but that could have been a function of the guides.

ed1?

I believe it was EA? Not sure honestly. It was not RD, I know it was an early application and response

If EA that’s why. Everyone is rejected EA.

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Anonymous wrote:No advantage EA at Georgetown. UChicago has the best Econ program hands down. Ed1 at UChicago. The rest, no need for ED2, I would just RD them all and decide on which one based on acceptance.

This may be the worst strategy possible. These are all reaches and OP's stats are mediocre for the colleges they're interested in.

Are you kidding? Mediocre?

I don’t see obvious weakness in his stats.

I didn't say he was weak, just not remarkable, especially for admission to top colleges in the US. Your strategy is gonna get this kid steamrolled.

+1, I'm a bit shocked by how optimistic everyone else is. He has okay stats.

+1. There is an element of chance to all of this, but this profile could definitely be rejected from all of these. Especially a kid from DMV private school. Mine had stats similar to this. Better SAT, better GPA, team captain etc. In at ND EA (from a Catholic HS), rejected at others on this list.

Nephew was rejected at UChicago with 1600 SAT.

Maybe he will get in, maybe he won’t. But he should also have other options in mind.

When we visited WashU the focus seemed heavily weighted toward IT/comp sci but that could have been a function of the guides.

ed1?

I believe it was EA? Not sure honestly. It was not RD, I know it was an early application and response

EA vs ED is a different beast. OP's kid will be accepted to Chicago with ED.

FWIW I think Wash U is a harder admit than Chicago even with ED. Good friend's kid with similar stats was rej WashU ED1 and accepted to Chicago ED2.

Plus Wash U is an extremely safe campus with beautiful dorms.

My two cents: the high school matters. If you have Naviance/Scoir/Maia, check that.

3.8 from our Jesuit high school in the middle of the country does not get into ND/Georgetown, no way. Only a couple of people who'd be at/near the very top of the class get in those two schools. Even BC would require ED to get in with 3.8, though the 1520 helps.

Speaking of other schools, the list is too varied. It seems very likely that the kid will have some preference among these options. I'd only ED to a top choice. I'd think about reworking the list. Not having a preference for universities in cities vs LACs in the middle of nowhere and everything in between is not typical. ED to the top type of schools and RD to the lesser preferences.

Not knowing more about the high school or what the kid wants, it's still worth taking a whack at ED1 Chicago, ED2 WashU. This would leave ND and Georgetown for RD, of course.

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Anonymous wrote:No advantage EA at Georgetown. UChicago has the best Econ program hands down. Ed1 at UChicago. The rest, no need for ED2, I would just RD them all and decide on which one based on acceptance.

This may be the worst strategy possible. These are all reaches and OP's stats are mediocre for the colleges they're interested in.

Are you kidding? Mediocre?

I don’t see obvious weakness in his stats.

I didn't say he was weak, just not remarkable, especially for admission to top colleges in the US. Your strategy is gonna get this kid steamrolled.

+1, I'm a bit shocked by how optimistic everyone else is. He has okay stats.

+1. There is an element of chance to all of this, but this profile could definitely be rejected from all of these. Especially a kid from DMV private school. Mine had stats similar to this. Better SAT, better GPA, team captain etc. In at ND EA (from a Catholic HS), rejected at others on this list.

Nephew was rejected at UChicago with 1600 SAT.

Maybe he will get in, maybe he won’t. But he should also have other options in mind.

When we visited WashU the focus seemed heavily weighted toward IT/comp sci but that could have been a function of the guides.

ed1?

I believe it was EA? Not sure honestly. It was not RD, I know it was an early application and response

ED1 WashU. That’s the best bet.

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Anonymous wrote:Unhooked.

Boy, full pay, Econ (but could apply as history if that helps, has a ton of history EC), private, 3.8+, 1520

What would be EA or ED strategy w that list?

Take ND off the list because Notre Dame is not an afterthought type of school; those who want ND would place it first with no close second.

Georgetown is possible because OP is full pay & Georgetown likes full pay whether or not it claims to be need blind.

U Chicago economics is in a different class than the econ depts at the other schools. If OP's son truly wants to study economics, then U Chicago is the easy ED 1 choice.

Applying as a history (humanities) major will help most at Bowdoin College as Bowdoin has trouble getting its students to declare humanities subjects as one's major.

The only two schools on this list worthy of an ED application for an unhooked applicant are U Chicago & WashUStL. These should be OP's son's ED 1 & ED 2 schools.

U Chicago ED 1
WashUStL ED 2

Apply RD to the rest if unsuccessful in either ED round.

My kids were at all-boy jesuit HS and doing ND/GU EA is a typical gambit. One of my kids did that - he was neither was a top top choice, but he said "I know I'd be happy once I got there" which was probably true. He's a liberal kid and thought the politics would be conservative, but he can get along with a lot of people and would find friends wherever. He got into both, went elsewhere.

Some kids are not as "princess and the pea" as others. They're looking for schools where they can learn a lot, enjoy other kids, get a job when they leave.

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Anonymous wrote:No advantage EA at Georgetown. UChicago has the best Econ program hands down. Ed1 at UChicago. The rest, no need for ED2, I would just RD them all and decide on which one based on acceptance.

This may be the worst strategy possible. These are all reaches and OP's stats are mediocre for the colleges they're interested in.

Are you kidding? Mediocre?

I don’t see obvious weakness in his stats.

I didn't say he was weak, just not remarkable, especially for admission to top colleges in the US. Your strategy is gonna get this kid steamrolled.

+1, I'm a bit shocked by how optimistic everyone else is. He has okay stats.

+1. There is an element of chance to all of this, but this profile could definitely be rejected from all of these. Especially a kid from DMV private school. Mine had stats similar to this. Better SAT, better GPA, team captain etc. In at ND EA (from a Catholic HS), rejected at others on this list.

Nephew was rejected at UChicago with 1600 SAT.

Maybe he will get in, maybe he won’t. But he should also have other options in mind.

When we visited WashU the focus seemed heavily weighted toward IT/comp sci but that could have been a function of the guides.

ed1?

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Anonymous wrote:No advantage EA at Georgetown. UChicago has the best Econ program hands down. Ed1 at UChicago. The rest, no need for ED2, I would just RD them all and decide on which one based on acceptance.

This may be the worst strategy possible. These are all reaches and OP's stats are mediocre for the colleges they're interested in.

Are you kidding? Mediocre?

I don’t see obvious weakness in his stats.

I didn't say he was weak, just not remarkable, especially for admission to top colleges in the US. Your strategy is gonna get this kid steamrolled.

+1, I'm a bit shocked by how optimistic everyone else is. He has okay stats.

+1. There is an element of chance to all of this, but this profile could definitely be rejected from all of these. Especially a kid from DMV private school. Mine had stats similar to this. Better SAT, better GPA, team captain etc. In at ND EA (from a Catholic HS), rejected at others on this list.

Nephew was rejected at UChicago with 1600 SAT.

Maybe he will get in, maybe he won’t. But he should also have other options in mind.

When we visited WashU the focus seemed heavily weighted toward IT/comp sci but that could have been a function of the guides.

Anonymous wrote:Unhooked.

Boy, full pay, Econ (but could apply as history if that helps, has a ton of history EC), private, 3.8+, 1520

What would be EA or ED strategy w that list?

Take ND off the list because Notre Dame is not an afterthought type of school; those who want ND would place it first with no close second.

Georgetown is possible because OP is full pay & Georgetown likes full pay whether or not it claims to be need blind.

U Chicago economics is in a different class than the econ depts at the other schools. If OP's son truly wants to study economics, then U Chicago is the easy ED 1 choice.

Applying as a history (humanities) major will help most at Bowdoin College as Bowdoin has trouble getting its students to declare humanities subjects as one's major.

The only two schools on this list worthy of an ED application for an unhooked applicant are U Chicago & WashUStL. These should be OP's son's ED 1 & ED 2 schools.

U Chicago ED 1
WashUStL ED 2

Apply RD to the rest if unsuccessful in either ED round.

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Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone just assuming Chicago? No where does op imply they like it better than the other programs

Because UChicago has the best Econ program, and ED there provides an actual advantage (as opposed to ED at Williams and Bowdoin, which is mostly for athletes).

For our (private, DMV) school, Middlebury ED is also reliable, but the students who go there are a notch lower than Chicago, both in terms of GPA and test scores).

Among the LACs mentioned, Williams has the best Econ department. But as mentioned already, ED is a non-starter for most unhooked students.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Chicago then Midd for ED/ED2. Sounds like a Chicago kid. The other schools do not provide nearly the early boost that those two schools do. I think kid could get into Wash U in ED/ED2, also. The others are not so obvious.

Wouldn’t bet on this. Good chance of rejection from all of these. Apply, sure, but the net should be widened

Anonymous wrote:I’d do ED to wash U or Chicago for best shot to get into one of those.
RD to the rest if the ED doesn’t pan out.

+1

Anonymous wrote:The schools on OP’s list are very different from one another so it’s hard to suggest an ED strategy that makes sense other than UChicago/Wash U. But have some solid targets too (William and Mary, Bates, Wesleyan may be good targets)

Disagree.

OP's son is interested in a different class of schools than Bates & Wesleyan. Plus, one who is interested in Notre Dame would be a very poor fit at ultra liberal Wesleyan.