<p>What’s the difference between Early Decision I and Early Decision II?</p>
<p>^^The difference is all in the timing. Both require a commitment to attend if accepted.</p>
<p>A few years ago schools started offering ED II as a means of committing to what was often a second choice school. If someone applied to one school for ED, there was still time after a denial to apply to another school ED II. ED II still allowed colleges to identify the students who were committed to attend before they evaluated the regular decision pool. Colleges don’t mind having once been a second choice if it means that they are now a first choice.</p>
<p>I suspect that the majority of ED II applicants applied elsewhere ED I and were rejected. But some just didn’t get the application together in time or made a late decision.</p>
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High school students procrastinate or mis-judge the amount of time it takes to put a good application together? Shocked, I’m shocked I tell you.</p>
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The need or desire to compare financial aid offers is the best reason not to apply ED. Comparing FinAid offers was useful for us in that it allowed us to make a case on how Smith interpreted part of our tax returns that led to them increasing their offer by a couple of thousand $$ per year…enough to beat out Barnard & Wellesley.</p>
<p>Oh okay! I’m apply Early Decision II, but it’s not because it’s my second choice. Smith is actually my first choice since I was a junior in high school. I just don’t want to rush. And it’s true, I didn’t realize putting together an application was so time-consuming until I started a few months ago.</p>
<p>This bears repeating:
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<p>If you need financial aid, you probably shouldn’t apply ED. That’s one reason Princeton and a few other colleges did away with ED; they believed that it favored the privileged.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I’m going to Northampton for The Interview and a tour around campus. I can’t wait. (:</p>
<p>@Momwatitingfornew: I need financial aid, but I don’t think the other schools I’m applying to (Mount Holyoke, BU, etc in regular decision; will pull out applications if I get in EDII to Smith) would do much better with aid. So would applying EDII for Smith be a mistake aid-wise even if it won’t be a big difference?</p>
<p>Re financial aid and ED - we made a similar decision with our D - the aid packages we were likely to get from her top choices were so close we let her do ED since we felt the difference wouldn’t be significant. We got a nice aid package and pretty much on the nose of what we expected - on the other hand she didn’t get any kind of scholarship which apparently you are more likely to get RD so she is now working in a lab ( she was accepted into at the end of her first year) but not paid for it.</p>
<p>I think the main difference is if you really want to be competitive for merit aid. In terms of need-based aid, the difference is not large. Smith says their offers are within $1000 of similar schools, so you have to think to yourself if that 1000 is going to really be a make or break difference in terms of your financial picture. However, if you’re really counting on merit assistance, you’re better of applying RD. It’s not that ED students NEVER qualify for STRIDE or one of the other merit aid packages (and frankly, the chances that any applicant will get one of those is pretty slim), it’s just that they don’t qualify as often as RDs. If you’re legally bound to attend if accepted, it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to shower you with a merit award that could be used to attract another student with lots of choices during the RD process.</p>
<p>The biggest difference is the inability to compare offers and to leverage those offers, if necessary, to obtain a more favorable package. Colleges have been known to read need differently. If your parents are recently unemployed, self-employed, or if their incomes fluctuate from year-to-year, you may be surprised by what you’re offered. Large but not liquid assets (such as a house in a high cost-of-living area) may be regarded differently from school to school. If yours is a relatively straightforward case, Smith should meet your need as expected.</p>
<p>Some parents tell their kids that they won’t pay more than X dollars per year toward education – what they think they can afford – but the college itself may determine an amount that’s very different. Students of divorced and/or step-parents also run into problems if someone refuses to contribute what the college says they must. (Parents are often expected to take out loans, something not every family thinks they should.) Every year, this disconnect between the FA office and parents results in disappointed students. If you see yourself in this paragraph, you might want to re-think applying ED. </p>
<p>Smith WILL meet your need if you are accepted, but the determination of that need might not be what you and your parents expect.</p>
<p>Just as an example of what can happen: I know a student who was accepted to a handful of top LACs. Her father had lost his job within the past year and had recently begun his own business, which had not yet shown any profit. His previous salary was huge, way out of range of normal FA, but the family was living off savings at the time the student applied. She received a huge need-based financial award from College A, a lesser one from College B, and almost nothing from the other schools that accepted her. The other schools wouldn’t budge in their FA, but the student took her FA from College A to College B, which bumped theirs up a little. Although it wasn’t as high as College A’s, College B’s FA adjustment allowed her to attend.</p>
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<p>Depends on your definition of slim. Around ten percent of admitted students are offered a STRIDE merit award. Fifty to sixty accept. The Zollman and The Springfield/Holyoke Partnership scholarships add another percent or two</p>
<p>Well, i think ten percent out of a class of 700 is pretty slim, considering all of the meritorious students who apply. So maybe 70-75 at the most receive some kind of merit aid, that still means that 90% of the class doesn’t. </p>
<p>But my main point is that if you know you’ll need merit aid (i.e. you’ve crunched the numbers and while Smith is not affordable your family’s assets don’t qualify you for need based aid), apply RD. If you’re etiher primarily banking on need based aid, or in the “we can afford it, but merit aid would still be nice” category, it may not be enough of chance that you’ll get a merit scholarship to justify waiting until RD. </p>
<p>Either way, only apply ED if you’re very very sure. I know it’s nerve wracking to have to wait all the way until mid-spring to hear back from colleges, but patience can be a virture. Don’t apply ED just to save yourself the time. Do it because you know it’s right for you.</p>
<p>My interview today went ridiculously well! I’m so excited and really hope that I get in. :)</p>
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<p>I would view the likelihood of being awarded a STRIDE differently. Audrey Smith, Dean of Enrollment, is very forthcoming about the fact STRIDES are used to mitigate the loss of students to Ivy League schools, top rated LACs and cross-admit LACs that offer substantial merit awards. (e.g. MHC)<br>
If an admitted student is in the top ten percent of applicants, her chances of receiving a STRIDE are, I would guess, north of eighty percent.</p>
<p>Also, merit awards become part of students’ federally determined financial aid and cannot be added on top of student’s federally determined need. A STRIDE only is financially beneficial to those families whose EFC is above $15,000.00</p>
<p>S&P, I agree with you, crunch the numbers. If the EFC is high enough, and the student might qualify for a STRIDE, apply RD. Or if aid is of utmost importance, and a thousand dollars (more or less) one way or the other will make a difference, apply RD. However, if after carefully considering the advantages of ED-- i.e. higher admit rate, peaceful, stress-free holiday season, ( at least as college apps are concerned) and one has the confidence Smith, as overwhelmedma discovered, will offer an extremely fair financial aid package, close to calculated expectations–it’s prudent to consider an ED application.</p>
<p>Mmm. Have to query the STRIDE numbers. My info is that there are 30-40 a year that choose to attend with STRIDE offers. More than that offered, of course…some don’t take it. But as CDad notes, STRIDEs and their supercharged siblings, Zollmans, are aimed at students whom Smith suspect they are competing with Ivies and other high-end LAC’s. Not that they are omniscient…I know of one student for whom Smith was the #1 choice and she got a Zollman anyway.</p>
<p>@wanton, I’m glad you had a good interview!</p>
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<p>TheDad, 30-40 is the number of squirrels with Tourette syndrome outside one’s window on any given day. It’s also the usual number of students ‘slowly’ crossing Elm in front of the Campus Center when in a hurry to get to the Woodstar Cafe for a cup of caffeine. It can be confusing!</p>
<p>2008- 52 women accepted STRIDEs
2009- 51 accepted. Other years are similar.</p>
<p>Admission strives for 60 acceptances. STRIDE yield is 20-25%</p>
<p>Congrats wanton - My D liked her interview too and mentioned it in her why Smith essay. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the update, CD, and the dangers of getting stale. D’s year there were something like 34-35 STRIDE’s. It sounds as if they’ve decided to go a little more competitive.</p>