Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

There is nothing wrong with this, but I would only do it if there's a realistic chance she would pick one of the other schools over the REA. I did this back in the day. Got into a REA in December. It was my top choice but I was not yet certain. Getting in allowed me to pare down my list significantly. I only applied to 2 more - 2 that I would have maybe went to over the REA. In the end, I got into those too and ended up choosing the REA after an overnight visit and more research and thought.

Anonymous wrote:DD received admission to a HYP REA, and is still thinking about sending off applications to the rest of HYPSM, a few more Ivies, and a few T20s (Duke, Caltech, namely). There was a thread here a few days ago complaining about kids who had been accepted early still trying their shot in RD.

With about a week to go for RD, I had a candid discussion with her about whether or not she wants to apply to these schools, since some of her friends are angry with her for continuing to apply.

I personally see nothing wrong with it. You can't "steal" something that nobody has any ownership of, and nobody is entitled to an outcome that hasn’t been decided yet. Admissions aren’t a zero-sum moral exercise; they’re a process with many independent decisions, yield modeling, waitlists, and thousands of variables no applicant controls. Applying RD doesn’t take a seat away from someone else. It simply preserves her right to make an informed choice later, after seeing financial aid, program fit, and personal priorities side by side. Asking an eighteen-year-old to pre-emptively limit her options to soothe others’ anxiety feels misplaced; kindness matters, but so does allowing students to advocate for themselves. If she ultimately chooses the early school, the system reallocates offers accordingly. Until then, she’s doing what the process allows, and what any prudent applicant would do.

She will only apply to schools that she would have interest in attending over her REA acceptance. There's also the added benefit of being able to negotiate aid. Her older sibling also attended a HYPSM and we greatly benefited financially from being able to compare aid offers. We are of course over the moon for her, but don't want her to be alienated by her friends.

Any thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:i dont see anything wrong with it
college is a big decision, kiddo is right for trying to keep options open
plus if the school is yale, no one wants to attend school in a shithole like new haven

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a ‘friend’ who got into Cornell ED but submitted other apps just to see where else she would get in and then brag about it. Just seems unethical.

The high school won't submit transcripts to other colleges once the ED admission happened. So they are wasting their time.

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is a pathetically bad investment. It’s a rather mediocre to poor-quality university which masquerades as still-relevant.

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a ‘friend’ who got into Cornell ED but submitted other apps just to see where else she would get in and then brag about it. Just seems unethical.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a ‘friend’ who got into Cornell ED but submitted other apps just to see where else she would get in and then brag about it. Just seems unethical.

The high school won't submit transcripts to other colleges once the ED admission happened. So they are wasting their time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you’re looking for some type of financial aid/full ride scholarship from another school because of not being able to afford your HYP education, then it’s pretty selfish to apply to more, it’s hurting other kids chances.

No it isn't. Students from the same school do not compete against each other for X number of spots. That's why admit numbers vary from year to year.

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a ‘friend’ who got into Cornell ED but submitted other apps just to see where else she would get in and then brag about it. Just seems unethical.