<p>The massive ED-EA benefits were OLD news when I joined CC more than a decade ago. Since then, no programs have been more misjudged and misunderstood, especially the part that it is mostly the domain of the connected and wealthy. Today, early programs represent the best avenue for the well-informed, including the very poor.</p>
<p>Fwiw, the rise in applications at certain schools has been highly predictable, especially at schools that were hopeless laggards in adapting to a changing world. Just as it is predictable that many schools will have to change their business models and change their spending habits. </p>
<p>There are single digit schools in a sea of schools that struggle to admit fewer than 50 percent and reach a yield above 33 percent. And will struggle to stay afloat.</p>
<p>Xiggi, I haven’t read the article you linked yet, so it may have covered this, so my apologies if it did. </p>
<p>ED is heavily skewed by students that schools have to admit to achieve their profile objectives. These include, but are not limited to recruited athletes, URMs and first time collegians all who may have good specs but still fall into the lowest 25th percentile on test scores and grades. The real advantage of ED for a typical student is far lower than it wold appear.</p>
“specs” is short for what? Specifications? Specifics? </p>
<p>I’ve seen “stats” on here frequently, but never specs. Is this a common term? It sounds funny, like design details for some sort of project or something. No offense, maybe I just never heard of it.</p>
<p>BTW - stats sounds funny too, until you get used to it.</p>
<p>I don’t get the N/A in the charts. The Ivies published all their ED and RD admit rates for this year. Why are they not in the table the NYT put out. Lazy reporting?</p>
<p>As a parent of first generation urm students who needed financial, ED was the logical choice. My children had test scores within range of their schools with high gpa’s. They also held leadership positions in sports and clubs. </p>
<p>I now realize how valuable my children were to the colleges. If I had to do it all over again, I would have applied to a more selective university for my first child because the financial aid would have been better. Less debt is important. With that said, I am grateful for the opportunity my children have been given. </p>
<p>It is unfortunate that many first generation urm’s are not aware of the advantages of applying early.</p>
<p>It’s a tough decision. I knew young people that did not apply early decision or early action to top schools either out of over confidence or lack of confidence.</p>
<p>The over confident assumed they would be accepted to top tier schools and that was mostly fed to them by their over confident parents.</p>
<p>The ones that lacked confidence felt like they need a few more grades or another award to add to the r</p>
<p>eyemgh: I’m not an expert in the matter, but I’m under the impression that many top athletes are handled in a separate admission schedule. I would assume most athletes would want to apply to multiple colleges, and not be limited to binding early decision. Also, as noted above, I believe most first generation college applicants and URMs are more likely to apply in the regular pool than binding early admission. It is the applicants with more sophisticated guidance counselors and more experienced parents who know the system, and who push the kids to act early (and in many cases push kids to apply to the parent’s alma matter). </p>
<p>I just know how high school students’ academic interests and college preferences evolve between August and May 1. I can’t imagine participating in locking in a young person’s college choice that early.</p>
<p>I personally know three URM families who applied ED to top schools, were accepted and are now so regretting it because they took an offer that looked good and doable for them as it was the bird in hand and everyone wanted it so badly, and the momentum was to do so. Now wiser in the way the market works, they realize they could have done better if they had had some offers to compare. Two of the kids are now in local schools commuting because the costs were just not doable. ED is great, ONLY if you know what you are doing when it comes to fin aid and if you are willing to take the emotion out of the decision. When it works, it’s beautiful. When you overextend yourself, it’s not, and schools do not always come up with their best offer at ED, and there well may be other schools just as desireable that would offer a lot more. </p>
<p>I wonder how many will be taken off waitlists at these schools. I just read that BC’s acceptance rate is still about where it was, but they accepted 2000 fewer kids this year. They took a big hit in applications and if they had accepted the same number of kids, their yield and ratings would have really taken a nose dive. Unless they have a much better handle on yield, they are going to have to hit that waitlist extra hard.</p>
<p>Charlieschm is right. Though, yes, some schools do use the ED venue for athletic pick, many schools have their own schedules for athletes. It used to be, at least in my experience, that likely letters were given out to athletes. I also know athletes who were just plain accepted when the deal was done, even though ED was over and RD letters were not yet sent out. A kid was so accepted to Georgetown from here that way. So it’s all over the board as to how athletes are treated. </p>
<p>My oldest was a recruited athlete, and he was pressured to ED at one school, who did accept him RD through regular channels (EA/RD) as did all but one school that wanted and accepted him that did send him the offers independent of when others were getting their acceptances. It totally depends upon the school, the sport, the athletic department and the athlete how that happens.</p>
<p>Excellent article. It is sad that we are competing to be the best ranking school in a America by shuffling numbers instead of concentrating on what makes a school really great, improving their education.</p>
<p>Madaboutx, have you seen an official ED number for Columbia?</p>
<p>Bbayou, general logic is defied by individual cases. Students with very low EFC could be well-served by early admissions. in fact, students who need a lot of aid might much tougher odds in the RD round as the budgets shrink and claimants get more numerous. </p>
<p>Mini, they don’t from what I’ve seen. I know a number of Ivy athletes. They don’t get any money. Parents paying full freight as they do not qualify for need. What they got was a boost in admissions, and most of those kids would most certainly not have gotten an acceptance at such selective schools without their athletic talent, experience and willingness to play in college.</p>
<p>I am right with you on this blue. Unless your high achieving URM is getting picked up through Questbridge or Posse (which may require that they commit to attend if admitted), your desirable high achieving URM will still be a desirable high achieving URM in the RD round. By all means test the waters and toss applications in during the EA round. (then adjust accordingly). Remember the whole premise of ED is, that in exchange for an early decision, if admitted, you will attend, withdraw application and not make any new applications (yes, there is an out clause if the if it not an affordable financially feasible option for your family).</p>
<p>
IMHO, then you would have still been making the same mistake twice. Even among select schools, all financial aid is not created equal (I know in our house there was ~ a 15k gap among 7 fafsa/css profile, meet 100% demonstrated need schools). The big down side about ED is your ability to compare offers and ask for a financial review (based on a peer school offer).</p>
<p>read post from katwkitten (who has been through the process with 5 kids</p>
<p>What do they call it? Need based aid? Are intimating that the schools develop flexible rules for athletes, musicians, or actors? </p>
<p>Is that different from schools offering their best merit aid packages to students who qualify for need-based aid? As they do in, humm, a small northeastern progressive city.</p>
<p>Perhaps time has come for the Ivies to abandon their self-imposed rules and call the Ivy League an academic league and openly compete with Stanford or Duke for the best and smartest athletes.</p>
<p>I am a mother of a curent senior. Did not apply SCEA or ED but took full advantage of the EA option at colleges of interest. Then applied to quite a few schools RD.
Has been admitted to some absolutely fabulous schools, many in the top 10. BUT the best financial offers did not come in untitl recently. One a week ago , the other a day ago. At this point my senior has two full rides with many other advantages at two schools that are in the top 10. If my senior had applied ED we probably would have lost quarter of a million dollars.</p>