<p>My son is planning on applying early decision. After reading through a lot of posts, I am concerned that what he thinks now, in October, may change by the end of the school year. He is looking at a mid-range LAC outside of our geographic area. Last fall I might have felt that ED was his best option, but he was a bit of an academic Lazarus during his junior year and raised his class rank, gpa, and test scores to a point where I think he could still do fine without ED. Should I try and change his mind, or is it his decision to make?</p>
<p>Does he truly want to attend the ED college or is his decision a strategic one?
Will he need financial aid?<br>
If he truly wants to attend the ED college and does not need to compare financial packages, ED may give him an edge and it would be good for him to apply there. If he is not absolutely sure that he likes the college and will continue to like the college, and/or if he needs to compare financial packages, EA is a better option as it is not binding. He can still apply RD in case he does not get in under ED or EA; he can also apply RD even if also applying EA (but not SCEA).</p>
<p>Hopre it's clear.</p>
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I am concerned that what he thinks now, in October, may change by the end of the school year.
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<p>You have articulated one of the main drawbacks to ED. And, yes, many kids do wish they had the freedom to explore other options come April.</p>
<p>Personally, the only reasons I'd let my kids apply ED is if they were absolutely 100% in love with a school, AND it had a unique program, AND I knew we could afford it easily, AND they needed the ED edge (which might be fake).</p>
<p>He doesn't need financial aid. He has visited twice, and says he is sure of the school (at least as sure as you can be at 17), but I'm not sure that he's sure (does that make sense?). Part of it could be is that the school is far away, and it's hard to think of him that far away.</p>
<p>Kids of 17 often suffer buyer's remorse and end up wishing they had some more options in April, when non-ED kids have a handful of acceptances to consider. I would strongly discourage him applying ED... Let him get his application in early, but as a non-binding EA app or just an early submission regular decision app, then have him apply to some other schools that interest him. You may not NEED the financial aid, but another desirable school may offer your kid a merit scholarship. (Yeah! Free money!) JMHO</p>
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Kids of 17 often suffer buyer's remorse and end up wishing they had some more options in April, when non-ED kids have a handful of acceptances to consider.
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<p>A lot of kids at 17 are also very happy to not have the whole thing hanging over their head until April.</p>
<p>I think that if a kid has visited twice, believe he's found his school, and the parents view that school as a rational choice, then that's pretty much all the decision-making that a 17 year old is going to be able to make, whether it's in October or December or April. If anything, I think the April decision-making tends to be more panicky and less considered, at least based on what I see here. I've seen a lot of kids tie themselves up in knots in April second guessing themselves.</p>
<p>Is he a candidate for merit aid anywhere that he is considering? Has he visited other schools? How much interest has he evidenced in any other schools? If he had not stated to you that this was his first choice, would you have known that it was from all you have observed? </p>
<p>In my observation, there are two things which push some of our kids toward ED when it does not truly meet the excellent criteria which weenie articulated (absolutely 100% in love with it; has a UNIQUE program; easily affordable; need the possibly ephemeral ED edge):
1. they believe in the ED edge and are fearful of missing any advantage it might hold
2. they would like to do as few applications as possible and eliminate that stress from their lives</p>
<p>In other words, their reasons are "ok" but not the greatest. Especially that second reason - once they've done one app, it's fairly easy to do several more, unless they are going for the elites with their multiple essays.</p>
<p>None of this adds up to an answer as to whether you should work hard to discourage him if he is adamant about it. But food for thought. And if he isn't adamant, I'd talk with him more about it.</p>
<p>I find that college admissions is one area that many kids really do want our input. Even if they act like they don't want us "interfering" in other things ;).</p>
<p>I agree with interesteddad's post, but you know your own son. Is he decisive in general or does he tend to second guess himself? If he is indeed sure, financial aid is not a consideration and he wants to be over & done with it, an ED acceptance can make for a stress free senior year.</p>
<p>Our son was "sure" of his choice and I was dubious at first. We told him he could apply ED only if he visited a good comparison school and really looked closely at what was making him choose his ED. Once he had done that I was sold and have had no regrets; neither has he. Some kids can be decisive at 17 and in October. You will know if he is that kind of kid based on other things he's been able to choose or do. If we want them to be able to Just Say No then we probably also need to respect their capacity to Just Say Yes.</p>
<p>I was glad for how ED simplified many things. It does not make senior year stress-less but definitely less stressful. (and senioritis sets in sooner so can be readily recovered from...)</p>
<p>I do think it is wise to also make a deal that if they apply ED, they have to get well along on another app before the decisions come, so if they are dissappointed, you are not starting from scratch miserably late in the year...</p>
<p>I agree with interesteddad too. I've also seen kids tied up in knots trying to make that April decision. ED worked well for my son who did not meet all the criteria above: first and most important, YES he loved the school, but no, it did not have a unique program, he didn't need financial aid, and no he did not need the admissions edge of ED to get into the school. He was completely sure and we supported his decision. He's a happy sophomore now. I did insist that he do an overnight at the school before applying ED - that just helped confirm his decision.</p>
<p>Cyclistmom, if I may play devil's advocate for a moment, how do YOU feel about the Early Decision school? </p>
<p>Sometimes, our kids know exactly what is right for them, but we second guess their choice due to our own fears/doubts (i.e., the school is "too far," maybe he could "do better" now that his grades are up, etc.). We then can turn around and put the blame on the student (he hasn't thought this through enough!) when the truth is, they have done a very good job making a tough decision, it's just not the one WE would make. </p>
<p>If you've expressed your doubts to your son, and he doesn't share them after considering all sides of the coin, and there aren't major financial reasons for not applying ED, then you may need to start untying the apron strings and let your son make the final decision (and believe me, I know from personal experience how hard that can be!). After all, in less than a year, he'll be a college freshman, and making daily decisions for himself. Some of them will work out, some of them won't, but they'll be HIS decisions and HIS consequences to deal with. Think of this as good training for the many decisions to come.</p>
<p>If yall are unsure of the decision, go EA. ED doesn't really help you that much more than EA, and as an EA applicant the school may offer your son scholarship oppurtunities.</p>
<p>Also agree with ID and others. It's not just the edge, real or not. If you're really sure, then the exhilaration of knowing in December that you're in the school you want to be in is fantastic. You need to know your kid--my S is NOT the second guessing type; he never looks back and what ifs. My D, on the other hand, has a horrendous time with decisions--she needs all the time and options in the world to feel sure she's getting it right. S adored getting in ED; for D, it would have been all wrong.</p>
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It's not just the edge, real or not.
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<p>Any admissions edge is really secondary, more along lines of "I'm sure this is the school for me and I want to give it everything I've got to get in...."</p>
<p>What I asked my son was, "If you don't get in ED, will it change how you feel about the other schools?" He said absolutely, he would feel that the others were second choice. So he's going RD to all except safeties (EA). But I know a number of kids who've gone ED and are happy (but they've all been accepted).</p>
<p>i-dad:</p>
<p>that is the best summation of ED that I have seen -- very nicely put.</p>
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But I know a number of kids who've gone ED and are happy (but they've all been accepted).
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<p>I don't really think it makes sense to apply to a school ED unless you think there's a reasonable shot at getting accepted (say 50-50). To apply to a school ED unless you are a solid credible applicant in the pool is wasting time and energy. The whole point of applying ED is that you are a good fit for the school.</p>
<p>it's great your son has visited twice and is so sure about his prospective ED choice ... the only question I have is has he also visited solid comparison schools and he is this sure? Or have these two visits been without a real alternative? If he has seen comparable schools and he is sure in our house it would be his decision (and i'd probably be Ok with the decision after starting out with a generic anti-ED bias).</p>
<p>In addition to thinking through and considering the consequences of being accepted ED and foreclosing other choices, you and your son should also be thinking through and considering (as is implicit in a couple of earlier posts) the consequences of being rejected or deferred ED. Based on the experiences of several of my son's friends, being rejected, or even being deferred, ED can cause depression and compound the stress over the following months.</p>
<p>Rejections in the RD round typically come with some acceptances as well, and while there's obviously disappointment in a rejection, the student starts focusing on the choices he does have. In contrast, an ED rejection just stands there alone. Plus, it comes just as deadlines are looming for other applications, leaving the student scrambling to get in his applications to other schools right at the time he's feeling down about himself. If he does end up applying ED, I would second mmaah's advice about getting the other applications done, or mostly done, before the ED decision comes out.</p>
<p>I'm sure the buyer's remorse phenomenon occurs sometimes, but I haven't seen it. My (vicarious) experience is that kids who apply ED and are accepted are thrilled, and don't miss the anxieties of December, March, and April at all.</p>
<p>For almost every kid, there's more than one college where he or she could be perfectly happy, and after all the acceptances and rejections are in and the choices made, one of the best parts of the process is that -- surprise! -- almost every kid finds lots of reasons to think that he or she is going to a great, great college. The ED kids are no exception; I don't know one who's looked back. There's lots to criticize with ED, and it's not a good option if you need to compare financial aid packages and have reason to think they will differ materially. But I don't think buyer's remorse is a big problem.</p>
<p>As for the depressing effect of getting deferred or rejected by your top school: yes, that can be an issue, but better in December when you have some time to adjust (have those other applications ready to go before the decision comes out) than in April. Also, think about applying to a rolling-admission safety (if there is one that makes sense) to mitigate the potential hurt.</p>