<p>My D has completed her college visits and I can tell she is stuggling with this decision. Her first choice school is a big stretch. She is at the bottom of the 50th percentile range for ACT and her gpa is just below the midrange as well. This school offers EA (restricted-no ed). Her 2nd choice school (I believe it's a close second) is a slight reach, and if she goes ED I believe she has a good shot. She is reluctant to go ED because it "freaks her out" a little, but she may be losing a good opportunity if she doesn't and it looks like the dream school is too big of a stretch. To add to the mix, if dream school doesn't admit her ED, she can be deferred to the RD pile, and school No. 2 offers ED II which is in January. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Definitely go ED on dream school, and if deferred (very likely), do ED 2 on the second choice. This gives greater chances on admissions to both schools.</p>
<p>If she applies EA to #1 school, by the time you get around to an EDII application, her feelings may have become less conflicted. Either she’ll take the (possible) EA deferral a a wake-up call and it will resolve any hesitancy she felt about an EDII app, or else she’ll just be clear that the EDII school is not what she really wants and she’ll skip it.</p>
<p>Things can change for kids that age, and it’s still a ways off before you have to make that decision.</p>
<p>First, is binding ED a realistic option for her? If your family financial circumstances indicate that she will need to compare financial aid packages or that she will need a “financial safety school” (one that your family can afford without aid) just in case her aid packages are insufficient, ED should be out of the question (but the restricted EA at the 1st choice school would not be).</p>
<p>Second, does your daughter have any special “hooks” that would help her to overcome her just-below-middle qualifications for the stretch school? At many highly selective schools, a substantial proportion of the students with qualifications in this range – regardless of whether they were admitted ED or RD – are recruited athletes, members of underrepresented minority groups, legacies, or students that the college particularly wants because of some special talent or unusual background. If your daughter doesn’t fit one of these descriptions, her chances are actually lower than her statistics would suggest.</p>
<p>Financial aid doesn’t factor in for us. As for “hooks” I don’t think my daughter’s will help her that much. She met the coach and she may get on the team, but will not be a recruit. I appreciate the fact that she does have some time (although not much for an early app.) but I worry that waiting for the ED II round may not give her as much advantage as going ED I. I guess it really does boil down to her comfort with a commitment to one choice or the other, but as a somewhat anxious mom, I want to give her all the facts that she may not be attending to without pushing overly influencing her. It’s a tightrope!</p>
<p>First, being at the bottom of the mid 50% range and just below it for GPA doesn’t make it a “big stretch.” It’s a reach, but not a huge one. Remember, 1/4 of the student body falls below that mid 50% range! (although most of us assume a large number of those kids are recruited athletes, legacies, or kids with a “hook” - URMs, a special talent, or a compelling reason for the lower GPA/test scores). On the other hand, not being in the mid-50% range it doesn’t bode well for being admitted EA. My guess would be if her stats are that close, she’d be deferred to the RD pool, and they’d see how the rest of their applications come in. (My D is in a similar situation).</p>
<p>I’d go EA with dream school and see what happens. If she’s straight-out rejected, she still has time to go ED2 with School #2. If she’s deferred, then she’ll have to choose whether to go ED2 with School # 2 and risk having to give up dream school if #2 admits her, or going RD with School 2. By then (5 months from now) he feelings about one or both schools may have changed.</p>
<p>A rule of college admissions: ED is for LOVE. It’s binding. Don’t let her go ED into School #2 with the thought in the back of her mind that if dream school admits her she can back out of the ED. It’s VERY frowned upon by admissions officers at all schools, it’s a binding contract, and it’s unethical. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>