S24 is planning on applying ED to his first choice school and then EA to several others. They are all LACs or small private schools. Many of the EA schools would be matches or safeties for him but some have low acceptances rates due to ?yield protection. We will not be able to visit all of them before the EA deadline. Is there still benefit to applying EA or is it better to wait to apply RD to allow for a visit? To add to the difficulty he is planning on being a music major and would like to have trial lessons with the instructor for his instrument and meet with the department. Some of this can be done remotely (would this count as demonstrate interest if the contact is done through the admissions office and they are CCd on all contact?)
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ETA…music performance or what? If an audition is required, it’s very possible that EA isn’t even an option for the music acceptance part of this. But some colleges do have an early audition date…so check. My kid did early auditions at two schools and had those acceptances with merit aid before Christmas.
In my opinion, there is no downside to applying early action wherever allowed on your kid’s application list. The caveat being…some schools like demonstrated interest a lot…so check for that.
If your student gets accepted ED, then they simply will withdraw any pending applications or acceptances, and accept the ED offer of admission.
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Yes, remote visits “count”. Also sign up for mailing lists, follow on social media and schedule the visit when you can. Even if you haven’t done it yet, the school will know it’s scheduled. Also communicating about the trial lesson. Schools that care about demonstrated interest track all that stuff.
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There are many ways to demonstrate interest beyond an in person visit. Your S can do virtual sessions, sign up for emails and open/click on links in them, reach out to the AO with a question for which the answer is not readily available on the website, or meet with the rep during their in school visit.
For the music trial lesson, your S could reach out to the AO to get recommendations for who to meet with, and then follow up with them after your S has that session.
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This is what I was hoping! Ok so rather than going through the music department I will have him email the admissions department to schedule the lessons and have him cc on the arrangements. He is sending in supplements and will apply for all music scholarships so that is very helpful!!
This is for non audition based schools (except for one St Olaf where the BA requires an audition)
Just to be clear, follow whatever the school’s website says about scheduling music lessons. If the site says who to call to do that, do so, then follow up with the AO after you did it.
If the school’s site doesn’t say how to schedule a trial lesson, then it’s fair to reach out to the AO, so they can tell you how the process works.
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Then apply EA. No issue. If there are top choices for your student, perhaps try to visit and have trial lessons at those.
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Yes, these are my two rules of thumb for dealing with generally friendly but nonetheless bureaucratic institutions:
(1) Go to their website, and follow all relevant instructions;
(2) If you have any questions, give them a call (there is usually a contact listed), and ideally reference the website (“Hi, I am trying to accomplish X, your website said I should do Y, but I wasn’t sure if Y included Z.”).
The only wrinkle here is you might want to “CC” admissions to get credit for your efforts, but that’s simple enough.
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Thank you! I didn’t think of that so I really appreciate all of you! He will make sure to reach out to his specific AO and cc them when he is contacting the teachers especially.
I didn’t see the suggestion above so I’ll mention it. Some schools will do regional information sessions where the AO will visit a hotel/conference center and interested kids can come in and get the same spiel they would get at the information session normally held on campus.
Worth researching who your AO is as well and see if they are going to be at any college fairs in your area. Good opportunity for the kid to introduce themselves to the AO.
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