Benefits of Accepting Early Action Admittance Right Away

[gibby]

@IxnayBob: In additional to financial aid concerns, the other reason to hold off on accepting Yale’s SCEA offer immediately is that a student might change their mind about which college they really want to attend AFTER they have received their RD notices. To quote Jeffrey Brenzel, recently retired dean of Yale Admissions: http://admissions.yale.edu/after-colleges-accept-you

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a student say, I wish I had looked more closely at the schools where I was accepted. I wish I had talked to more students who went to those schools and more students who went to the school I actually picked. I really had no idea what the others had to offer because I was blinded by what I thought I knew about what I thought was my first choice school.”

If you can . . . hold off the rush to judgment, you may be very surprised to find yourself strongly considering a school you would not have originally put at the top of your list. And if instead, you end up confirming your first choice after all, you will have only done so after giving it a very sober examination in light of the competition. This is not only healthy, but it is going to make you much more knowledgeable and realistic about what to expect when you arrive on campus. Remember above all else that no college is going to be paradise, and that all colleges have something outstanding to offer you.

Yale is a wonderful college. My son graduated from Yale and love it there, but the school is not for everyone and a 17-18 year old should take their time and consider all offers that are on the table before making one of the biggest decisions of their life.