<p>D just went the whole LAC ED process, and will be attending one this fall. We (her parents) went through the process with her, and we all learned a lot along the way. Many myths were dissipated, of which there are many out there, and some truths revealed that are not so pretty. But there is a good school for you at the end of the rainbow.</p>
<p>First off, our search process started during late sophomore year. We really had no intention of looking for a LAC, we had no idea about them, didn’t really know which schools were good or bad, didn’t know the advantages or disadvantages of them over larger schools, but chance brought us there, they really suited D, who wants to be pre-med, so that’s where we concentrated our search - along with a few smaller national universities.</p>
<p>We quickly found one school that would always remain near the top of D’s list, it was always in the Top 3. Others schools came and went, but by this time last year, we really only had one top choice and felt we needed a few more strong candidates. So we took what we already knew, planned a summer tour, combined it with some interviews that we knew she wanted to do, and off we went. Part of the problem with touring in summer is there are few students on campus, but we met enough at each place that we got a pretty good feel for each school. But we did hit one school that had looked pretty good on paper, we had scheduled an interview based on the paper stats, and it quickly shot to the top of D’s list. So now we had two really strong candidates, the question was, which one would become the ED school.</p>
<p>Without naming the schools, they are both Top 15 LACs, and both NESCAC. The are nearly identical in size, each has certain advantages and disadvantages over the other, so it was really, really close. Fortunately, both offer ED1 and ED2, so we would get another shot if the first didn’t pan out. We don’t qualify for financial aid, so that wasn’t going to be an issue. School GC, who’s got contacts at both of these schools and can prescreen D through admissions, advised us the D would have a good shot at either, though both have under a 30% acceptance rate, one substantially under. So the problem was, which school would be ED1 and which one ED2? Basically, we had a #1 school and a #1A school. We went around and weighed the options, but by the end of summer, we had them slotted. Basically, the higher ranked school got the #1 slot, the school that she would have a slightly easier time getting in took the #2 slot - but that was only part of the reasoning behind the choices.</p>
<p>Then we found out we had competition, and not in a necessarily good way. No one from D’s HS has gone to either of these schools in quite a few years. And the schools have been begging the GC to send candidates. All of a sudden, we have multiple people wanting to go - and apply ED. And some are recruited athletes. Academically, D has solid credentials, so in that regard, she really did have the academic edge. But these are small schools, and getting multiple candidates in ED is fairly rare for any HS. But we were locked in and decided to go for it. We had a list of other schools that were also strong candidates, including one EA school. No real safeties, as if absolutely nothing came through, which we thought rather unlikely, we still had the state flagship available until late in the spring, though it wasn’t exactly desirable. We had a total of 10 schools were were looking at.</p>
<p>Decision Day ED1 - Drum roll please - and it’s a deferral. It was not a happy household. And to make matters worse, the recruited athlete got in - someone with really weak academic credentials. (I’m still waiting to see their actual numbers on Naviance. D has no knowledge of him ever taking an AP class, and our school offers over 20.) So for all the talk about School #1 being an academic powerhouse, that really doesn’t apply if you’re good with a ball. And that’s when I started looking into how ED really works, especially at LACs in general, and NESCACs in particular.</p>
<p>Because LACs are small, athletic recruiting can overwhelm the ED system. And the ED system is the primary way of locking in athletes. I’ve run the numbers, and it appears that about half of all ED slots are used specifically for athletes - so that’s why the numbers appear to be much more favorable than RD - athletes are told to apply ED or you won’t get a slot. Our GC was kind enough to tell us that several recruited athletes, without naming names, who were being recruited were told apply ED or lose your spot. They wouldn’t commit, so the schools moved on. After a lot of investigation and calculation, I came to the conclusion that ED provides a slight, but not insignificant advantage to regular applicants, but not one that is large as it appears if you just look at the raw numbers.</p>
<p>So deferred from #1, the question then was what to do - not apply ED2 and still take a shot at #1, or just move on. And in the mean time, we did get some good news in getting an acceptance from the EA school with a nice scholarship attached, but not so nice as to deter us from the ED2 school. So we had a floor. Our GC was nice enough to work his contacts at ED1, who after getting past all the happy talk, was basically told that the admissions committee saw no compelling reason to admit D ED, so given the competitiveness of this year’s admissions, and his knowledge of how applications were going, told us that if we’d be happy with ED2, to go ahead and do it, as it would be a really good idea if we wanted any advantage at getting into a tough school to get into. So we did, along with an additional 5 schools RD in a moment of panic, for a total 15 schools applied to.</p>
<p>As it turns out, D did get into her ED2 school, and is very happy about it. Our HS got two students in there ED, one athlete ED1, who is a strong student, and D in ED2, a rare accomplishment for any HS. And they will be joined by one additional student from the HS, for a total of three, the first students to attend the school in over 10 years. Go figure the sudden popularity. No additional students beyond the recruited athlete got in the ED1 school.</p>
<p>So, lessons learned:</p>
<ol>
<li>ED to LACs is not as advantageous as it appears in the raw numbers, but it is an advantage.</li>
<li>Be really committed to going if you apply ED. As happy as D was to get in, she did have some second thoughts before attending the Accepted Students Day. She’s not the type of kids to easily make a decision, so ED in that sense helped, as I can just imagine having her having to choose between five schools she was actually accepted to - but be really sure you want to go before applying.</li>
<li>Apply somewhere EA or rolling admissions. You’ll want that high of an acceptance if ED1 turns you down. It really helped ease the disappointment, even if it wasn’t a school high on the list.</li>
<li>Realize that some people have easier routes to get in ED than you do. (Not just athletics either - legacies and developmentals are often admitted that way as well at some schools.) It isn’t fair, and the schools don’t advertise it, but it is what it is.</li>
<li>Absolutely use ED to apply to your top realistic pick, by which I mean you aren’t completely unqualified. ED is not such an advantage that it’ll get you in if you aren’t qualified. You need to be above the 25% line to have a realistic shot if you don’t have something else going for you.</li>
<li>You, the parent might be indifferent about schools, but your student is not - trust me. Never apply ED blind, I can’t imagine putting my child through that. Even a summer visit will help, as the way you are treated by just the kids giving the tour and the admissions staff can tell you a lot about a school. If you student is uneasy about a school, even all schools, forego ED, you really don’t want the hell of trying to find a way out of your commitment.</li>
</ol>
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