Anonymous
11/04/2025 13:01
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I feel like there should be an agreement in place:
For kids who sign it, they agree to school counselors steering, and potentially benefiting from the steering.
For kids refusing it, counselors should leave them alone. And kids take whatever consequences.
Right now it’s involuntary. They come steering no matter you like it or not.
Isn't that currently the unspoken agreement? You are not required to go with the counselor's recommendation, right? You can still decide to go ahead and apply to your preferred school, right? In what school do the parents/kids not have the ultimate say in where to apply early?
No.
The steering starts when they get the list of ed applicants, mid October. When a school has 20 applicants ED but historically sending two, they talk to every one in that list! Some are counseled to apply up. Some down. Some to comparable schools. Yes you can say no.
Having an agreement in place ensures that you are not even subject to the initial conversation. Leave.me.alone!
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:57
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One of DC’s friends is regretting it because she was steered by school counselor to change her ED school. It turned out now kids with lower stats are ED her original choice. Should stick to your guns.
My relative w 1550 SAT regretted early to BC. Felt should have aimed higher, but likes it.
The reality is that if your child is accepted ED, they inevitably feel like they should have aimed higher. If they hold out for RD and get rejected from their top choices, they feel like they should have locked in a T20 with ED. There's no way to win.
The way to "win" is to get deferred and then apply broadly and then only get into the ED school to which they were deferred and no other top choices. But of course, "winning" this way is the most painful all around because the kid has to wait 4 months and spend their winter break writing supplemental essays.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:55
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:I think the short answer is don't apply ED if it's not the first choice school.
My kids applied ED and got into T20 schools in that round. One and done. Very simple. Neither is spending four years lamenting their chances at Harvard or Princeton because these weren't schools they wanted to go to regardless.
Having gone though this though, I do think the SCEA schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, CalTech, Notre Dame - are losing a lot of talent because of Early Decision. Those smart students aren't applying anymore because they were already accepted elsewhere.
So the way it's working today is that a lot of accepted HYPSM students today are rejects from the early round elsewhere. The ED schools are generally taking the best students as quickly as they can. And Harvard and Princeton get the leftovers.
I think that is the case for a lot of students who are accepted RD at HYPSM. There are still plenty of students who apply to HYPSM and are accepted in the early round. Each of these schools get thousands of kids with perfect or near perfect stats, so there are a lot of "best students" all around.
But my kid who is valedictorian with highest rigor and strong ECs, etc. decided not to apply unhooked to HYPSM, but to instead apply ED and lock-in an acceptance at a T20 school they would be happy to attend.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:52
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One of DC’s friends is regretting it because she was steered by school counselor to change her ED school. It turned out now kids with lower stats are ED her original choice. Should stick to your guns.
My relative w 1550 SAT regretted early to BC. Felt should have aimed higher, but likes it.
The reality is that if your child is accepted ED, they inevitably feel like they should have aimed higher. If they hold out for RD and get rejected from their top choices, they feel like they should have locked in a T20 with ED. There's no way to win.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:50
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:I feel like there should be an agreement in place:
For kids who sign it, they agree to school counselors steering, and potentially benefiting from the steering.
For kids refusing it, counselors should leave them alone. And kids take whatever consequences.
Right now it’s involuntary. They come steering no matter you like it or not.
Isn't that currently the unspoken agreement? You are not required to go with the counselor's recommendation, right? You can still decide to go ahead and apply to your preferred school, right? In what school do the parents/kids not have the ultimate say in where to apply early?
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:50
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
I think the short answer is don't apply ED if it's not the first choice school.
My kids applied ED and got into T20 schools in that round. One and done. Very simple. Neither is spending four years lamenting their chances at Harvard or Princeton because these weren't schools they wanted to go to regardless.
Having gone though this though, I do think the SCEA schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, CalTech, Notre Dame - are losing a lot of talent because of Early Decision. Those smart students aren't applying anymore because they were already accepted elsewhere.
So the way it's working today is that a lot of accepted HYPSM students today are rejects from the early round elsewhere. The ED schools are generally taking the best students as quickly as they can. And Harvard and Princeton get the leftovers.
My kids applied ED and got into T20 schools in that round. One and done. Very simple. Neither is spending four years lamenting their chances at Harvard or Princeton because these weren't schools they wanted to go to regardless.
Having gone though this though, I do think the SCEA schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, CalTech, Notre Dame - are losing a lot of talent because of Early Decision. Those smart students aren't applying anymore because they were already accepted elsewhere.
So the way it's working today is that a lot of accepted HYPSM students today are rejects from the early round elsewhere. The ED schools are generally taking the best students as quickly as they can. And Harvard and Princeton get the leftovers.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:43
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
I feel like there should be an agreement in place:
For kids who sign it, they agree to school counselors steering, and potentially benefiting from the steering.
For kids refusing it, counselors should leave them alone. And kids take whatever consequences.
Right now it’s involuntary. They come steering no matter you like it or not.
For kids who sign it, they agree to school counselors steering, and potentially benefiting from the steering.
For kids refusing it, counselors should leave them alone. And kids take whatever consequences.
Right now it’s involuntary. They come steering no matter you like it or not.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:34
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:One of DC’s friends is regretting it because she was steered by school counselor to change her ED school. It turned out now kids with lower stats are ED her original choice. Should stick to your guns.
My relative w 1550 SAT regretted early to BC. Felt should have aimed higher, but likes it.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:30
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My S23’s classmate was rejected ED1 at U Chicago, got nervous and immediately ED2’d to Emory & got in. Shortly after, was accepted to our flagship honors program with a free ride, where their best friend was going. The family definitely had ED regret being full pay. Just something to consider!
How is this possible when Chicago ED full pay has 100% acceptance rate, per DCUM?
Let’s put it this way: for a T20 admit, Chicago is the only T10 they can try to reach in ED.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:28
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My S23’s classmate was rejected ED1 at U Chicago, got nervous and immediately ED2’d to Emory & got in. Shortly after, was accepted to our flagship honors program with a free ride, where their best friend was going. The family definitely had ED regret being full pay. Just something to consider!
ED2 is much much worse. Many counselors say that it's a scam.
Why is it a scam? It's the same thing. It's top schools who have smartly realized they can capitalize on the top kids who might not get in ED1, but still have a great 2nd choice.
It's up to the kid to decide whether to ED2 or wait and see. In this case, would you regret not doing ED2 if the "flagship honors program" didn't give much merit? Many would. You have to calculate that when deciding to do ED 1 or 2
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:26
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Actually counselor steering is a value-added service provided by mostly private schools (most public school counselors are indifferent or overwhelmed with the amount of work). Only the counselors have a 'big picture' (institutional and historical) view of all seniors' stats and class ranking, and who/how many will be likely accepted at a particular school based on previous years' stats. So it is truly a useful service -particularly those with lower stats who is unlikely to be accepted - when the counselors steer them to apply ED to other schools. After the ED round, the counselors at private schools will try to reign in top students already accepted EA at the top schools from doing another round of RD applications at other top schools for bragging rights. Hence in essence the counselors are functioning as traffic controller to optimize the school's OVERALL success in snagging as many top spots as possible. Granted it is hard for a student (with lower stats) to understand why a counselor may discourage applying to an oversubscribed perennially popular school, but it is to the their own benefit to take the counselor's suggestion seriously. It has been stated before, every year after ED rounds, there are so many postings expressing shock how competitive the field was, with only the tippy top students getting the tippy top schools.
Yes counselor steering can be beneficial, especially if the CC knows their stuff. Fact is most universities are only taking so many kids ED or overall from a given school, so if they know 5 kids with much better resumes are already applying there, they know your kid's chances are lower. But don't let them bully your kid. Just look at the facts and realize that you can still ED, but you are not likely to get in. It's up to you (your kid and the parents to decide) if they have a true 2nd or 3rd choice they like almost as much that would give them an ED acceptance (or much higher chance)
Those "games" are fine to play. But you have to understand and be okay with the consequences.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:21
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My S23’s classmate was rejected ED1 at U Chicago, got nervous and immediately ED2’d to Emory & got in. Shortly after, was accepted to our flagship honors program with a free ride, where their best friend was going. The family definitely had ED regret being full pay. Just something to consider!
How is this possible when Chicago ED full pay has 100% acceptance rate, per DCUM?
How much of an idiot are you?
The University of Chicago application is difficult and nuanced. If the kid did not spend enough time showcasing they’re quirkiness, I can see it being a reject.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 12:18
Subject: Re:Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:I think ED makes the psychological aspect of the college process so much worse. The best way to go into the process is to not pick a dream school and feel like there are many schools on the list you love and would be happy at, but ED encourages students to pick a first choice and then fixate on one first choice school. And An ed rejection can be really hard since it is months before happier news. I watched my DC’s class go through this, and several people had very unhappy and stressful senior years after ED rejection even though in the end all of these particular kids wound up at fantastic top schools.
I agree with all of this. This system bifurcates those that can get in and enjoy the next few months or those that have to scramble and get in another dozen applications during holiday break. And talk about the mindf*ck of getting deferred and not knowing whether it's a soft rejection or if you actually have a shot at RD or if they defer everyone who is not accepted so it doesn't tell you anything (I'm looking at you Harvard and MIT!).
Anonymous
11/04/2025 11:59
Subject: Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:My S23’s classmate was rejected ED1 at U Chicago, got nervous and immediately ED2’d to Emory & got in. Shortly after, was accepted to our flagship honors program with a free ride, where their best friend was going. The family definitely had ED regret being full pay. Just something to consider!
How is this possible when Chicago ED full pay has 100% acceptance rate, per DCUM?
Anonymous
11/04/2025 11:54
Subject: Re:Has anyone regretted their ED choice?
Anonymous wrote:ED may be on the chopping block soon, anyway. Better to take advantage of it now while you have the chance!
Ha, fat chance.