<p>Then again, Harvard is not necessarily the right choice for a top student. Simply because it's rated #1 does not mean that every "top candidate" applys to Harvard EA. For some, a top 25 isn't even a backup, and as crazy as it may sound, some are only applying to Harvard as a secondary option.</p>
<p>And your statement that other candidates would apply to different schools to "give themselves an EA advantage elsewhere" implies that applying EA to Harvard does provide some advantage.</p>
<p>... but that is total horse manure.</p>
<p>The conventional response from Fitzsimmons et al (and I love the guy) is an obvious circumlocution. To the "charge" that there is a huge advantage to applying early, the response is that "the early pool was very strong this year, etc. etc. etc."</p>
<p>Answer: SO WHAT??? IRRELEVANT! </p>
<p>The fact is, applicants with <em>equal credentials</em> - as measured by SAT scores, or whatever else can be compared - have a far, far greater chance of being admitted if they apply early.</p>
<p>And it stands to reason that this is so. If it were not, then 4,213 people were out of their mind to apply early (21% admit rate) vs waiting for the RD round (5.47% admit rate). .... and I don't think they were out of their mind at all. They were very smart to apply early.</p>
<p>Guidance counselors at top schools know the score: they urge EVERYBODY to apply early if they're interested in an elite. (60% at Andover applied early this year.)</p>
<p>The studies by the "Early Admissions Game" people establish the truth beyond the shadow of a doubt.</p>
<p>No, what i was saying was that if a candidate wanted to go to a top school, but was not absolutely confident that they could get into a top school, it would make sense for them to apply EA to a top school like Georgetown, where EA probably gives an advantage. It's smarter to do that than to apply EA to Harvard, where there is no advantage to applying EA. As Harvard says, the only students admitted EA are those whom adcoms are 100% certain would be admitted when the entire applicant pool is in.</p>
<p>This, incidentally, is the type of thing that I have seen kids do whose parents were Harvard alum who had been very active as alumni interviewers. The students really want to go to Harvard, but apply EA elsewhere so as to be assured of getting an admission to a top school. Based on their parents' familiarity with the admissions process, the students know that it's smart to hedge their bets.</p>
<p>I have never said that every top candidate applies EA to Harvard. Of course that would not be true. Stronger candidates, however, are more likely to apply EA than RD.</p>
<p>The 5.47% is pretty insane, but the Yale RD numbers for last year were very similar (around 7%, maybe less).</p>
<p>
[quote]
As Harvard says, the only students admitted EA are those whom adcoms are 100% certain would be admitted when the entire applicant pool is in.
[/quote]
True, Harvard says that; untrue, that Harvard actually does it that way.</p>
<p>What I've been told over and over again as an interviewer, and a parent with a kid thinking of applying this year, is that the EA group is much stronger because it contains most of the athletes, legacies and development candidates. Harvard will also pick off national champs, etc. in this round. Private school URMs tend to go EA as well. It's certainly a boost if you're in one of those categories, but I don't think it is if you're not.</p>
<p>In my experience, EA applicants I have interviewed that were deferred and got in RD have often been legacies. I get the impression a lot of networks swing into action when some kids are deferred to push them over the hump. However, I highly doubt that Harvard or any school commits to taking a certain number of deferred candidate. Simply, it makes no sense.</p>
<p>The issue for the deferred is to not in any way wrap your self esteem around a Harvard acceptance. Clearly, it's a lottery withh little rhyme or reason. The vast numbers of top students who can not be accomodated means there are more schools than ever with highly impressive student bodies, and that's what makes a school. Looking at colleges this year has been an education. Many colleges that were just mediocre 20 years ago have come a long way. There are many impressive endowments, faculties and so many schools with lots to offer. So start falling in love with some non lottery options, just in case.</p>
<p>Exactly what I was thinking.</p>
<p>We received a request from the College Board today for our tax returns by Feb 15th.
Harvard and Amherst were listed as wanting the documentation. I am assuming this is due to my lower income that I have reported on the css profile and the fee waiver request. Some have suggested that this might indicate an interest by the schools but I am skeptical as it seems too early for the adcoms to have read any apps. On the other hand with so many applications why would fin aid bother with this unless they were interested?</p>
<p>I think that financial aid has to start early looking through their applications, way before admissions decisions. There's no way that they could wait until acceptances are done in mid March because that would not give financial aid an opportunity to do all of the calculations that are necessary for the 60% or so of accepted students who get financial aid offers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, applications don't even start going to admissions subcommittees at Harvard until Monday.</p>
<p>Byerly, could you send me that link? Thanks very much.</p>
<p>You are addressing a quite different point. Of course "strategic admissions" is the way to go these days, and who better to know the ins and outs of the game than college interviewers than their children. Everyone knows it is easier to get into Georgetown EA than to Harvard EA. (Curiously, however, the <em>relative</em> edge for early admits over RD admits is statistically far greater at ... Harvard!!!)</p>
<p>My point is ... IF YOU WANT TO GO TO HARVARD, whether or not you are a legacy, the time to shoot your bolt is at the EA stage, where you are at least THREE TIMES as likely to be admitted as are similarly credentialed candidates in the RD pool. If you get deferred, then you get another shot in the "repassage".</p>
<p>If a kid wants to go to Harvard and his counselor doesn't tell him to apply early, that counselor should be sued for educational malpractice!</p>
<p>End of story.</p>
<p>wow interesting. :) anyway... harvard is going to be hard this year.... that's all that matters... applying EA or not is no longer an option for many of us...</p>
<p>...Why would Harvard bother admitting a greater percentage of people with similar credentials SCEA than RA? And Byerly, how exactly do you know that Harvard does this? Can you at least point to lower average SAT scores in SCEA than in RA or to some similar statistic?</p>
<p>Harvard would gain in yield by doing this, but lose in quality of the admitted class. Why would yield matter so much nowadays anyway? US News no longer uses it as part of its rankings. Besides, Harvard gets ahead of the rest in rankings with things like astronomical endowment.</p>
<p>Fitzsimmons's claim in the viewbook makes perfect logival sense: "There is no incentive whatsoever for Early Action colleges to admit weaker candidates early and then to reject stronger Regular Action candidates. Diminishing the quality of the student body would be antithetical to the goals of any institution."</p>
<p>High school seniors aren't allowed to play the state lottery. They are, however, for only $65, allowed to participate in a lottery made just for them - where the prize is admission to Harvard with financial aid. I don't see what's so surprising about every high school kid in the top 10% of his class and his neighbor clogging up Harvard's RA applicant pool. </p>
<p>Stop sulking.</p>
<p>I invite any explanations and rebuttals.</p>
<p>I give up.</p>
<p>lol i can see why.</p>
<p>I can see why too. I cannot say that I did not have a strategic reason for applying EA to Harvard.</p>
<p>ANYHOW. the point is, this year is the hardest year yet for harvard and many other institutions....</p>
<p>Penn, Yale and (possibly, if they're favorable) Princeton numbers should be reported next week.</p>
<p>i am getting the rejection letter. no wonder about that.
GOD, deliver peace to my heart.............</p>
<p>would improving your SAT score 100-200 points earn u a second look if you were deferred in the early round? i mean, i know that everyone gets a second look....but like northstarmom has said, they have automatic rejects from the EA pool :confused:</p>