On our college tour to Vandy and UVA we were told by an admissions officer that applying early decision gave you no advantage. Is this true or not?
<p>And there is a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell to you if you believe that one. There are two truisms: (1) many colleges that have ED disclaim that it creates any advantage to admission and (2) the ED admission rate is higher, often significantly higher, than the regular admission rate at those same colleges.</p>
<p>Normally it is easier when applying ED. However, it would depend on the college. You would know for sure if the average SAT scores for a school are lower for applicants applying ED than they are for applicants applying RD. A lot of colleges including at least some of the Ivies are significantly easier to get into during ED. To make matters worse, they may fill up 20-50% of their freshman classes with ED applicants so that there are less open slots available during RD. Minority groups have complained about the practice since it is not good idea to apply ED if you are also going to apply for financial aid. More minorities need financial aid and so they feel disadvantaged during ED.</p>
<p>I really don't trust what admissions officers say. (They encourage too many auto-denies to apply just so that the school looks more selective for the USNWR rankings.) Does anyone have specific info on Vanderbilt or UVA?</p>
<p>UVA will be significantly harder to get into if you are applying from out-of-state.</p>
<p>I am in the camp that believes the higher percentage of acceptances ED at most schools is just a reflection of who the candidates are: recruited athletes, legacies, the connected, wealthy prep school students and increasingly, URMs. I think there's no advantage at highly selective schools if you're not in one of those groups.</p>
<p>URM? thanks</p>
<p>My son is not in any of those categories. Small school-less than 200( K-12) Ranked 1st in class of 20. ACT-28. GPA 3.9. Student Council President and Vice-President, Football 4 years, summer leadership programs Jr, Sr years. Honor Society, out of state for both schools. Also looking at Wake Forest, Furman- fallback-Ole Miss.</p>
<p>Although slightly out of date, this link is useful for tracking down the effect of applying ED at various schools:
<a href="http://www.admissionsadvice.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissionsadvice.com/</a></p>
<p>US News & World Reports says the overall admit rate at Vandy was 46%, ED rate 50%, but that number is also not based on last year, but the year before.</p>
<p>Pushymom, Is your son looking at being recruited for football at these schools? His ACT seems on the low side for Vandy and UVA out of state but I'm guessing he is hoping to be recruited?</p>
<p>ACT Scores 25-75% range for:</p>
<p>Vanderbilt: 27-31
U of Virginia: 25-31</p>
<p>Better chance at UVA than Vandy, but the ACT is the weak point. Will he take again?</p>
<p>Just did some checking - a 28 ACT is the equivalent to 1240-1270 SAT.
25% SAT for Vandy is 1250, for UVA 1220. Of course, at UVA it is probable that most of the kids below the 50 percentile will be either residents or have a major hook like sports.</p>
<p>Advice from the guides: 1) In ED the percentage accepted is normally higher and the SAT scores are normally lower. 2) Don't apply ED is you also plan to apply for financial aid.</p>
<p>(I have thought that the SAT scores might be lower since you have to take the test earlier in order apply early, but this is only my own idea.)</p>
<p>UVA will be a huge reach out of state, you need awesome stats.
Some schools even if you get rejected ED will give you an automatic edge because they know you want to go there, so if you are defered it can still help.</p>
<p>At some schools (e.g. Amherst, Williams), the % accepted during ED is twice that of RD.</p>
<p>Yes, applying ED does demonstrate interest and colleges like interest. However, according to 3-4 guides, being deferred in ED doesn't usually translate into being accepted in RD. The RD applicant pool is tougher than the ED applicant pool, and so if you couldn't make it in during ED, it is even harder and less likely to make it in during RD.</p>
<p>Do not ignore the part about applying for FA.</p>
<p>whats "FA" ? oh yeah.. can someone explain how ED works?</p>
<p>It is really misleading to say chances are twice as high for ED anywhere. While it technically appears true, ED is the round where all of the serious "friends of the college" apply. Most of those coaches have on their list, any legacy serious about the school and students high school counselors use chits for. ED is just a way to let friends skirt the process.</p>
<p>Suze, that is true to some extent. However, "The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite" by Avery, Fairbanks & Zeckhauser can give you a new perspective. Their claim is that applying ED adds the equivalent of 100 SAT points to your app. They talk about legacies, athletes, etc. and still present a very strong case for applying ED. The whole process has gotten out of control, and is certainly not operated in the students' best interests, but there is clear evidence in looking at the statistics that applying ED increases chances of admittance.</p>
<p>So save me, ED works like this: The app deadline is early, November 15 or Dec 1st. You can only apply to one school ED and if you are accepted, you agree to attend that school and cannot appy elsewhere, or must withdraw any applications put in elsewhere. Some schools have EDI and EDII with separate deadlines, but the same rules appy. </p>
<p>Some schools also have EA (Early Action), where you apply early and get an answer, but are still free to apply elsewhere.</p>
<p>
I disagree. I think that ED is a valid -- and valuable -- aspect of what is admittedly a very complicated process. Maybe EA is a saner system for the applicant, but we need to apply under the system we've got. If your first choice college is an ED college and if you're statistically within the ballpark, you should seriously consider this option.</p>
<p>If you can't afford to take a risk on financial aid (meaning that you have to compare and presumably negotiate offers) then ED may not be for you. I know this is controversial, but I think it's equally misleading to say that kids requiring aid should never consider ED. It's a matter of degree. </p>
<p>Under ED the family is may not be able to maximize their aid package, but there is no eason to believe that they will be shortchanged by applying ED, especially if the college guarantees to meet demonstrated aid. A family can get a rough idea of what to expect from a college prior to applying. It can't be confirmed, nor can the proportion of grants to loans be ascertained, but they can tell if it's worth taking a risk. What they can't know is if another college will offer more.</p>
<p>If you don't qualify for aid or if you're able and willing to risk that your ED school will offer a reasonably acceptable package, then ED can be of great benefit both to the school and to the student.</p>
<p>It benefits the school because they can lock in students who really and truly want to attend. Especially for small LACs where the fit and personality are critical to the campus community, this guarantees that the most appealing applicants can be secured. If they are URMs or athletes or artists or musicians so much the better. The point is that the school knows that they won't lose them to other schools later on in the process.</p>
<p>It benefits the students because (I believe) it gives them a boost in admission and it shortens the anxiety period. They feel they have given their number one college their best shot.</p>
<p>In my book it's a win-win situation. I don't see it as elitist. I see it as realistic.</p>
<p>Concerning ED and financial aid:</p>
<p>The issue comes down to the makeup of the financial aid package that the ED college offers you. Basically you are giving up the option of comparing financial aid packages from different schools by applying ED. </p>
<p>The colleges try to meet your financial need. Each college has a COA (Cost of Attendance) that includes tuition, room and board, books, and misc expenses. Your parents fill out the FAFSA which is a federal form listing their income, their savings, your income and your savings. Some colleges may also require that the College Board PROFILE also be filled out. Based upon this information, your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) is calculated. This is the amount that the college expects you or your family to pay towards your education. Your NEED is the COA minus the EFC.</p>
<p>The college's financial aid office then tries to put together a package to satisfy your NEED using grants, loans and part-time work. Grants are free money. Loans have to be paid back.</p>
<p>The reason that ED is a bad idea if you are also going to apply for financial aid is the grant/loan ratio. One college may give you a $20K grant and a $5K loan. Another college may give you a $10K grant and a $15K loan. Both of the packages add up to $25K, but the first college's offer is better since you only have to pay back $5K per year while you would have to pay back $15K per year at the second college. By applying ED, you are giving up the option of comparing packages. You have to take whatever they give you. Financial aid packages vary widely between colleges, and between different students at the same college. Some of the Ivies are even known for giving poor financial aid, and the posts on CC continuously show people getting great FA at college A and poor FA at college B only to have the next person report the exact opposite situation. If adcom decisions sometimes appear to be a lottery for the top students, then FA decisions are really obscure.</p>
<p>A typical COA at a private school is $40K per year. I should warn you that the above may sound better than it is. The problem is that the EFC can be very high for some people who consider themselves middle class. A family with a combined income of $70K per year (both parents) might have an EFC of about $15K which is a whole lot to pay each year. However, as the combined income goes towards $100K per year and exceeds it, the EFC gets very high.</p>
<p>Thus when you apply ED, you have a certain amount of money on the line. If the most FA you can expect anywhere is $5K, then you have less to risk applying ED than someone else who have $25K on the line.</p>
<p>The real problem with ED is that it was originally intended for the reasons that momrath indicated. However, it has evolved into an admissions strategy since it is easier to get accepted during ED. It makes me cringe to see high schoolers deciding where to apply ED based upon only the name of the schools. It turns out to be that they feel they have to apply ED somewhere or they won't get in anywhere.</p>