Stuff happens, oldfort. Tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms which dump 36 inches of snow and the college staff can’t get to work (pick your climate/geography). Maybe the “game” would work, because the EA result will come today and the ED result will come on Monday.
or not. Maybe one school’s decisions get delayed by two days because their server is down, or the other school’s decisions get moved up because they had fewer applications then they had staffed/planned for.
Our kids GC’s would not have allowed this scenario- it might have been technically legal, but not in the spirit of applying ED which states “this is my first choice college and unless the finances are unworkable, I will be attending”. And since the GC has to sign off on it- what the parent or kid think/might think/ or what the crowd on CC thinks is irrelevant. School policy. Only way to back out of an ED commitment is financial, not changing your mind 24 hours before the commitment is due because your “maximizing options sequencing” didn’t work out as planned.
What your daughter did by applying ED to a school not her #1 is definitely not in the spirit or intent of the entire binding ED process. Surprised that the GC went along with this. Move the application to RD.
Did she apply ED1 or ED2 to her Number 2 school. Most ED1 decisions came out in December. Is she waiting for the number one school to come out in March ,like on Ivy Day? The ED2 decision will probably come back before she hears from her “top choice.” Switch to RD now. If she gets in ED2 she has to withdraw all her other applications.
My kids’ school would have signed off on it because many students do apply EA and ED at the same time, with the understanding if ED was to come through then the student would need to decline all other schools.
I have seen a date on one college’s website saying anyone who applied RD has until January 31 to change to ED2. Of course it didn’t say a date for the reverse (changing from ED2 to RD), though-- obviously no college wants to encourage that!
The kid changed her mind - it happens and the decisions aren’t even out yet. Yes, she can withdraw it.
Yes, it is ok a to change to RD.
Good luck to your daughter!
It’s a tough decision because, as I understand OP, for this college the chances of being accepted may be vastly different for ED versus RD (as they are for a few, although not most, colleges). And if OP doesn’t get accepted at the first choice EA school, their change to RD may cause the second choice school to reject them versus that quite possibly they would have been accepted ED2. It’s a gamble, whichever way they decide to go in this. OP needs to decide if the student will be happy attending the ED2 school even if they could have gone to their first choice, versus whether it’s worth the gamble that they may end up not having either the first or second choice schools as options. This may also depend on other factors such as whether there is a likely third choice that the student would feel okay about if the gamble doesn’t work out. Of course, the gamble may work out fine and they may get into the number one school and/or they might get into both even after switching out of ED2 to RD.
I have only known one student to change their mind and switch from ED to RD - it had no impact on the outcome. She got in RD and actually turned down a “higher ranked” school to attend there. The school won’t penalize her for wanting to see her options - in fact they may view it as a sign of maturity IMHO.
IMO the more (and if) the school considers demonstrated interest in admissions decisions, the greater the risk that going from ED to RD may have a negative impact.
I agree with @Msfan1921 . This probably very much depends on which college it is, because for some the degree of demonstrated interest is extremely important, while for others it has little or no importance.
