<p>My daughter has concluded that 2 colleges on her list are by far her top choices. Both schools offer a early decision II. She has visited each twice. They are similair in many ways and both excellent. I think she would be very happy at either.
I feel that she should decide which of the 2 is her #1 chioce and apply ED. She says "but I love them both!" Both colleges are a "match" for her.</p>
<p>So my question......is she better off picking one to apply ED or go RD to both (along with the other 5 she is applying to) and just wait to see where she gets accepted?</p>
<p>If she's still in the "but I love them both" phase, then I'd say it's probably best to apply RD, unless she's absolutely sure she won't have regrets about "what could have been" if she gets into the ED school. But, of course, that's just my opinion. Others may have a different view. It's just that every year here on CC we have kids crying in their beer when they get into their ED school that they "should have" applied RD to other schools they liked "just as much."</p>
<p>If she likes both, I would suggest RD apps, in my humble opinion.</p>
<p>Amherst, for me, was a clear first choice for most of the application process. But, a few weeks before the ED deadline, I started to get cold feet. Amherst and another college were tied. I thought about turning my ED application to a RD one, but have not done so. Instead, I'll wait to hear from Amherst. Then, decide what to do. If I was meant for Amherst, so be it. If I was meant to consider others, I'll get defered, preferably, from Amherst--then accepted. :)</p>
<p>If I had known that my top colleges would be so close, I would have probably not ED'd. Amherst is still the better fit, but barely. In the end, more options are usually better.</p>
<p>I'm not really looking for opinions on her chances at the two schools. We have pretty much covered that with our research and her guidance adviser.
I guess my question is a "all things being equal" what do you think is her best route?</p>
<p>Assuming no financial aid needed, it really depends on the type of child. Is she likely to change her mind? Have any regrets? "what ifs?" Has she visited all 7 schools? For my d., the winner didn't pop up until very late in the process, and is certainly not where she would have ended up had she applied ED (where she was accepted anyway.) If, on the other hand, she's ready to make a decision and is prepared to live with it, then perhaps go for it (though it doesn't prevent much paperwork, does it? EDII still means sending in the other 6 applications.)</p>
<p>(my instincts are to go RD - the advantages of ED II at most places just aren't that great - some schools know that many ED II applicants are rejected/deferred at their first choice school, and they are likely to receive comparable applicants in the RD process.)</p>
<p>I believe Sgio asked about your D's stats because they play into the ED game. Every student has to assemble their Q&A scenario as it best fits their particular situation.</p>
<p>For instance, your D might statrt with "Would I be alright if I was rejected at both schools?"</p>
<p>if the answer is "no".....</p>
<p>ask...."Do I have the stats to be able to label both schools as "match/safety"?</p>
<p>If no, ask "Will my chances of admission significanly increase if I apply ED (based on knowledge of each school's ED profile)"?</p>
<p>If the answer is "yes"....you might think seriously about ED. Others will tell you that ED isn't for students in need of Financial Aid/Merit Aid. If the ED choices are Ivies you know you won't get Merit, so you have to make sure you can live with FAFSA estimates for any potential aid. If the ED choices are not Ivies, Merit might be an option. Things seem to wildly at the Financial Aid level and I believe attention to the relationship with the FA officer is as important as the Adcom, at this point. Good luck!</p>
<p>I don't know how any of us can offer advice. I mean, clearly, if the kid is ready to make a decision and finances aren't a factor, Early Decision can:</p>
<p>1) increase the odds of admission </p>
<p>2) allow a incredibly stress-free senior year</p>
<p>3) provide nine months for the mental transition from "high school" to college</p>
<p>But, all of that hinges on the kid being ready to make a decision. A kid who say's "I'm not sure yet" might actually be ready to make a decision. A kid who says "I am absolutely positive this is the school" might, in fact, not be ready to make a decision. Only a parent (or somebody else very close to the kid) could possibly know.</p>
<p>I knew that my daughter was ready to make a decision on her ED school. I also knew that she was not ready to make an EDII choice had it come to that.</p>
<p>Crewmom, in your D's case, I would suggest going RD at both schools. One reason is because she loves both equally and cannot pick one (I think ED is really when you clearly have picked ONE) and so her mind might oscillate as the year wears on, very common actually. The other reason is both are match schools and she likely does not need the "advantage" in chances by going ED as much. ED might be needed more if trying to increase odds on a reach school that is a first choice. </p>
<p>My D had two first choices at this time last year, both clearly tied in her mind at the time. They were Yale and Tufts. She was not ready to commit to just one by going ED. She decided to do EA at Yale because it meant not having to commit to just one of these schools and she still might get the boost of an early app at one of her top choices. An added reason was she felt she needed the boost there more than at Tufts (which was still a reach but an easier reach). Last year the boost of applying early to Yale was not too significant as their total number of early apps rose 55%, oh well. She was deferred. She then had the option of applying ED 2 to Tufts but as much as it was still a favorite, she did not want to commit and left all apps for RD. I think this was a good idea. During the winter, she started to say that she now had three schools tied for first in her mind...Yale, Tufts and Brown (notice the changes/variations I was warning you about earlier). As April neared, she said that Princeton was coming close to that pile of three in her mind. After all the decisions came out in April (Yale rejected, Princeton waitlisted, in at all her other seven schools), she then said it was between three schools....Tufts, Brown and Smith (Smith was not at the top of her list before this but got elevated by some things that were enticing there as time went on, via contacts and what not). She even put Smith before Penn (she grouped her preferences into piles which did not correlate with how difficult they were to get in). She ended up at Brown. So, here Tufts was a clear front runner for a good part of the year and had she applied ED2 ,she would not be where she is today! Brown became equally favorable to her over the course of the year, so in the end, I think the RD round was a good thing for her! Ironically, however, at the start of her junior year, when she just began the search process by perusing college directories, the school that looked the best in the fat guide books at the time was none other than Brown and who would have known she would ever end up there? She did not apply ED and last fall, Brown was not tied for first in her mind either. Even though she got into one of original first choices, Brown by then was tied for first afterall as the year progressed. </p>
<p>I share that as it is not dissimilar to your daughter who has two schools tied for first in her mind. However, my D's first choices were reach schools, and even then she did not do ED though she did do EA. </p>
<p>On the other hand, as one coach said to my D, "hard decisions don't usually get any easier if you wait to make them." When my D was deciding where to apply ED/EA, and there were several strong schools with different aspects that appealed to her, I just asked her: suppose you got in to all of them right now, where would you go? The answer was easy for her, so she applied there ED.</p>
<p>I did have a clear favorite, applied ED, got in, and STILL find myself with so many what if's. In all honesty, if I could do it over again (knowing what I know now, that I had a really great shot at getting into my ED school RD), I would apply to an EA school instead, and have done my ED school RD and not decided until I saw what all of my options were.</p>
<p>The thing is - as Susan noted - sometimes new information comes forth in the longer process. That is certainly what happened with my d. We weren't going to apply anywhere ED (financial reasons), and she likely did not need much of a boost if there is one (I have doubts in many places), given the fact that the boost would be more than offset by the mathematical possibilities provided by mutitple applicants (there being no clear favorite.). Having said that, she would likely have been perfectly content at any of the schools to which she applied (or she wouldn't have applied there - she was already attending Evergreen, and was a happy camper.)</p>
<p>But at time of application, Smith was no better than 6th on her list. Huge scholarship aid helped, but it was the visit that did it. Better language/JYA options than anywhere else. Better paid research opportunities. And, most importantly, they were ready to tailor what they had to offer to meet her needs. None of this information had turned up earlier in the comparisons of printed materials.</p>
<p>Interesting, too - when I had lunch with the admissions director about a month ago (consulting on homeschooling), she said the school could successfully compete with any other in nation including all the Ivies, with no exceptions other than perhaps MIT and Caltech, if they could get those admitted to visit. Or such was their experience. (I have heard the same thing said by the admissions director at Grinnell.) </p>
<p>The point is that time and opportunity can turn up new information at many schools. At some point of course, one has to "bite the bullet" (a funny expression given that all of these colleges are of such high quality), but if there is no clear favorite, what's the rush?</p>
<p>If your D is very likely to get into at least one of her favorites RD and has less-selective schools on her list that she would like to attend, then I'd go RD.</p>
<p>If there is a big gap in interest between the top two and the rest I'd try and pick an ED school, particularly if the top choices are reach schools, not matches.</p>
<p>I know one student who had two clear favorites (match/reach borderline schools) last year but had concerns about financial packages, along with other schools of interest on the list. In this case, RD was the choice. The student was rejected at one favorite and waitlisted at the other. Accepted at the #3 favorite, there was mild disappointment at first but enthusiasm quickly developed for #3.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies. We visited one of the 2 schools in question again today. We go back to the other for a 3rd visit in December. My daughter has decided to hold off with any ED choice until then.</p>
<p>A slightly different perspective...if your screen name indicates that your daughter is a recruited athlete, you may want to consider ED more seriously. Many crew recruits are making commitments at this time. The boat may be filled by RD time at her schools of interest.</p>