Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like the SLACs really favor athletes during ED. They're filling same number of athletic spots but that's a far higher % of the class.

ED's best chance would be UChicago in the 1 or 2 spot. They also don't care how many other kids from your HS are also applying.

I think I'd pick Vandy and then UChicago.

Middle bury takes something like 90 percent of its class ED, and I believe Bowdoin is close. What you are saying about athletes really only true for Williams and Amherst.

For the last year with data, Middlebury took 68.7% of their students through ED, and their ED acceptance rate was 4.2x their regular decision rate. Bowdoin took 52.6% of their students through ED, and their ED acceptance rate was 3.7% of their regular decision rate.

Wow! Middlebury's stats are crazy.

Anonymous wrote:3.8 GPA at top tier NYC private.35 ACT. No hooks, lots of good school-based ECs including leadership, fulfilling summer activities but nothing especially competitive.

Humanities boy. Would be thrilled with any of these reaches based on one visit to each (would def want to revisit)

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern
Davidson
ND

what to ED 1/2 or RD here?

Chicago ED1 will likely be an admit for a competitive student.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like the SLACs really favor athletes during ED. They're filling same number of athletic spots but that's a far higher % of the class.

ED's best chance would be UChicago in the 1 or 2 spot. They also don't care how many other kids from your HS are also applying.

I think I'd pick Vandy and then UChicago.

Middle bury takes something like 90 percent of its class ED, and I believe Bowdoin is close. What you are saying about athletes really only true for Williams and Amherst.

For the last year with data, Middlebury took 68.7% of their students through ED, and their ED acceptance rate was 4.2x their regular decision rate. Bowdoin took 52.6% of their students through ED, and their ED acceptance rate was 3.7% of their regular decision rate.

If he's happy with them all - and they're all great schools so makes sense to me - then I'd use my ED card where it seems to make the most difference. That's def UChicago and maybe Middlebury?

100%

The PPs who are demanding that the OP's DS pick a favorite are flat-out wrong. There are no dream schools, period. And lots of kids would be reasonably happy and successful at various schools. Kudos to the OP and her kid for realizing this.

ED should be all about strategy. Where will ED give the biggest boost as compared to RD? That's easy to figure out - just go to the Common Data Sets and run the numbers yourself. Don't bother with ED at any school where it doesn't significantly enhance the odds. You have 2 shots, use them wisely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice
UChicago

I would have said UChicago and then Rice.

Both really like private school kids. 3.8 won't hold him back in ED.

I agree with this. Chicago has a much larger undergraduate student body that most of these schools and takes a lot ED. Plus the top private thing - I was reading a memoir and the author's son from STA applied ED at U Chicago and got in along with something like five of their classmates.

ND doesnt have ED so even if it is in a top position, kids often try their hand at an equally liked school with ED

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3.8 GPA at top tier NYC private.35 ACT. No hooks, lots of good school-based ECs including leadership, fulfilling summer activities but nothing especially competitive.

Humanities boy. Would be thrilled with any of these reaches based on one visit to each (would def want to revisit)

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern
Davidson
ND

what to ED 1/2 or RD here?

Skip Williams unless he's an athlete.
Davidson isn't worth it, apply RD. Same with Middlebury
Chicago is where fun goes to die
Visit ND, it is polarizing, either he will love it or hate it.
I'd ED to Rice and Vandy

I’d say ND should probably be out if there was a visit and it’s not #1. Never ED to Williams. Probably ED1 to Rice and ED2 to Davidson.

Anonymous wrote:3.8 GPA at top tier NYC private.35 ACT. No hooks, lots of good school-based ECs including leadership, fulfilling summer activities but nothing especially competitive.

Humanities boy. Would be thrilled with any of these reaches based on one visit to each (would def want to revisit)

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern
Davidson
ND

what to ED 1/2 or RD here?

Chicago loves ED. But what does kid want? Those are very different schools in terms of size, location etc. Most prestigious school they can get into?

Chicago is less and less where fun goes to die, esp for humanities

Anonymous wrote:3.8 GPA at top tier NYC private.35 ACT. No hooks, lots of good school-based ECs including leadership, fulfilling summer activities but nothing especially competitive.

Humanities boy. Would be thrilled with any of these reaches based on one visit to each (would def want to revisit)

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern
Davidson
ND

what to ED 1/2 or RD here?

Skip Williams unless he's an athlete.
Davidson isn't worth it, apply RD. Same with Middlebury
Chicago is where fun goes to die
Visit ND, it is polarizing, either he will love it or hate it.
I'd ED to Rice and Vandy

All great schools. Your hook is being a boy that's interested in majoring in the humanities. Stress that on the app. All of the top schools are starved for smart young men that want to major in English, Philosophy, Classics etc. Dial that to 10 on the application. And then take a look at the admissions data from your high school. Universities often have preferences for certain high schools. And they also ding other high schools for whatever reason. Look for patterns over the past three years. It's usually very clear which universities like students from your high school. And which don't. Take that into consideration when choosing how to strategize with ED1 and so on.

Sounds like this is a pretty easy going kid who'll do fine anywhere. That list is all over the map though. So, hard to give a meaningful suggestion.

Personally, if you want to go to a SLAC, I'd do Bowdoin with the ED. They seem to get pretty sane kids. Williams seems like it's intense 24/7 and not a terribly happy school if you're not part of their thing. But winter in a small town in Maine. Not for everyone.

For the bigger schools, Vanderbilt would be good but it's such a hard, fluky admit that I'd hesitate using the ED card there. I think it'd be great to study humanities at Notre Dame, but that is such a particular cult-like school, so really do a vibe check. Also, they do like their upper middle class/wealthy Catholic school kids so check your NY private school's data before applying ED. Rice is fantastic but very STEM-y, yet with really good humanities departments and the residential college system. Would think about that one, but a humanities boy might not be on the same nerd wavelength as other students. Northwestern seems kind of out of sorts these days. Another school that made its rep in the 90s as a fun, smart school - like Stanford - and then kind of lost its way and doesn't quite know what it is anymore. So by process of elimination, Chicago for the other ED contention. Traditional life of the mind school, but have worked hard over the past decade to get over the where fun goes to die thing. Everyone seems to rag on Chicago a bit, but I think they know what they're doing. They're building classes that are broader in scope than those of yore while keeping the smartness. And it's a school where applying ED is going to be advantageous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern”

I think these would be a waste of an ED. I’d look at the others, particularly ND and Davidson.

ED is not necessary for Davidson for a top private. Don't even need to be in top 20 percent of class at ours, and they take a good number of kids every year.

Your information is incorrect for most schools. RD acceptance rate at Davidson is well under 10%. No one from DC’s top private (Catholic) was accepted RD this year, although there were a few waitlists (no admits, though).

It is accurate for the top academically rigorous independent schools my kids attend, two different schools. Op can check their school’s naviance to confirm if it is applicable to their school. You are describing a Catholic high school which is in its own category, and probably has a lower acceptance rates to Davidson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Bowdoin
Middlebury
Williams
Northwestern”

I think these would be a waste of an ED. I’d look at the others, particularly ND and Davidson.

ED is not necessary for Davidson for a top private. Don't even need to be in top 20 percent of class at ours, and they take a good number of kids every year.

Your information is incorrect for most schools. RD acceptance rate at Davidson is well under 10%. No one from DC’s top private (Catholic) was accepted RD this year, although there were a few waitlists (no admits, though).