<p>If my D decides that one college would be her first choice and her stats are within but not at the top their range--would it be wise to apply ED? Or is ED a better bet for a top of the range student? Or would you say this strategy should be varied depending on the specific college in question?</p>
<p>I think ED is more important if you are mid/lower in the range since it increases the chances. For a student at the top of the range, it is not as necessary.</p>
<p>I think that if your D really falls in love with a "target" school, ie. she is within but not at the top of their range, ED is still a good idea. First of all, there is so much more to admissions than just basic stats, so even a school that seems to be within range can end up with a disappointment. Secondly, her whole senior year will be a lot more enjoyable if she has everything resolved early. So, in my view, its more about her certainty about the school that how much of a reach it might be.</p>
<p>Pyewacket:</p>
<p>You do have to consider each school individually and look at the applicant is terms a little broader than just the stats.</p>
<p>However, I think that a binding ED application is appropriate for any student who is at least a solid candidate in the applicant pool for that college (say, mid-pack or above).</p>
<p>At many schools, the value to the college of guaranteed yield means that a solid mid-pack applicant is more likely to be accepted in ED. For a strong candidate, ED takes the element of risk out of the equation. Risk that your strong app just happens to get read at 2:00 am by a grumpy adcom who has just seen 15 more apps just like it and is looking to spit nails at the next yearbook editor. The ED evaluation takes place at the start of the season, before the crush of apps, exhaustion, and cynicism creeps into the process.</p>
<p>The mistake many students make is thinking that ED will magically turn a weak application into an acceptance. I don't think that happens very often, so I'm not a big believer in wasting ED apps on extreme reach schools. To me, ED works best for a student who is a plausible applicant for the particular school. For the schools I've looked at, the ED enrollees pretty much mirror the enrolled class as a whole in terms of stats.</p>
<p>pye-</p>
<p>As others have already stated so well, it depends on the school. You can research the school to see what % of the class they have historically taken via ED...and where the stats of those students fall when compared to RD applicants. </p>
<p>I don't support using ED as an admission strategy when the applicant is weaker, UNLESS the applicant is 100% sure of the choice. It's too much of a committment to simply use to gain a leg up, even when the leg up is clearly evident. </p>
<p>As Donemom stated, some kids really want to be "done" with the process before winter break. </p>
<p>Know your child's personality. Some kids are the sort to make quick, easy, wonderful decisions....and never look back. You'll find that these kids follow this path in other areas of their lives, as well. Start to pay attention to behaviors and look for signs of decisiveness, or a lack of it. </p>
<p>We have seen lots of buyers remorse from kids who feel that "undershot" their potential with ED. So, give extra thought to your child later wondering about "what if's" later on. Suppose your child gets into an ED school at which she felt like she had a good shot, but her friend, with lower stats and GPA, gets into a more selective school via ED. Your D might sulk about shooting too low. But, the same can happen in the RD round. </p>
<p>I do think ED is a leg up in most cases. What school wouldn't look a little more favorably on a student who is committed to attending, if accepted (see other thread on Yield). This might be especially true with Ivies and top LACs, where students tend to "blanket apply"....i.e. applying to ALL of the schools, regardless of fit (this is what I call the "throw it all against the wall and see what sticks" approach). In that case, the RD round is especially competitive. </p>
<p>You have the HYP kids who also apply to Penn, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, MIT, Cornell, Amherst, Williams and anywhere else they would be willing to go. But, remember, they have the stats for HYP. Your D, who might have Columbia stats, but not H stats (there's little difference, but the line is clear). Suddenly your D is applying to Columbia, but competing with a bunch of kids with H stats. The ED round keeps her away from this issue.</p>
<p>I agree with Momsdream and Donemom--if your kid is certain--and has by history been decisive and content with his/her decisions--ED is a wonderful opportunity to simplify the senior year (which is stressful in any case). I had always been skeptical about ED, but my son found a school that was a clear first choice and good fit and he has always been clear-minded and content (even stubborn) once he makes up his mind. While I was a little disappointed to miss the college visiting scene (we never even got to my alma mater)--once I'd lived through one college app as a bystander--I was more than happy to be "done" also! Its probably not a bad idea to ask kids to think about what their decision-making style is/has been--looking back at other things in their life (camp, sports,... etc.) and just consider that a factor in whether ED is their "style" or not. Its really a method--not a strategy....</p>
<p>pyewacket,
I have some particular recommendations based on various situations, but don't want to make a long post here. I'd like to PM you if you could enable that in your control panel, please.</p>
<p>There are a lot of variables to consider. . .like:</p>
<p>Selectivity of the ED school and other schools on the list
Exactly where your D is in the stat range
Acceptability (per your D) of the other schools on her list
Importance of financial aid packages
Ability to turn out an excellent app for the (earlier) ED deadlines
Ds history of making informed choices, incl. "sticking with" informed choices</p>
<p>Importance of these factors and their ranking will vary by situation. I do believe that ED has the most utility for kids in the middle of the stat range, as kids in the higher range are less likely to need the boost and those in the lower range may not get enough boost to get in, particularly at highly-selective institutions.</p>
<p>Excellent list, reidm. I would add only one more, because this can be an essential point, too:</p>
<p>Importance of Yield to school being considered ED.</p>
<p>Thus, Swarthmore, which competes dearly for the Ivy-type, Ivy-qualified students, & suffers from being an also-ran with the Ivies, is very yield-oriented. I think this may be true for Tufts & Georgetown & Amherst, too.</p>
<p>So, to the OP: this factor + reidm's list make ED <em>not</em> a one-size-fits-all kind of decision for any student.</p>
<p>Actually, the bigger reason to apply to places like Swarthmore and Amherst ED is to beat the rush of the gazillion high-stat applicants wasting their EA apps with wing and a prayer long-shots at HYPSM. </p>
<p>By the time those gazillion kids say, "Uh-oh, deferred, I guess I better start mass-mailing applications", you are already fat, dumb, and happy, with an acceptance in hand, looking forward to a relaxed Christmas vacation.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, most of these kids end up at the same schools. Some just go through more heartache than others to get there!</p>
<p>pyewacket,</p>
<p>I would advise you to take a stab at the whole list before making the ED decision. "Build the list from the bottom up" is very good advice. There may be a 'neck-and-neck' school where she stands a better chance ED. Might be good to compose the whole list and then decide. </p>
<p>Start with about 5-6 realistic matches. Find some safeties that mimic these schools. Finally, nudge up a bit into higher stat/selectivity schools. Not too high. The problem is, any student in the USA could have Harvard as a "reach" even though only an infinitesimal number of them would even stand a chance of admission. </p>
<p>Make sure your D stands a fair chance at her reaches. If a school is an unrealistic reach/total longshot, it is doubtful that ED alone would do the trick -- a BWRK, with 25% or lower SATs is not likely to be admitted, ED or otherwise. (If there is an extenuating circumstance such as legacy, sport recruitment, or geographic/ethnic diversity, ED <em>might</em> be a good choice even with 25% stats.) </p>
<p>Remember that the 25%-75% figures can be hard to analyze. Imagine a scattergraph of the following scores: 1600, 1600, 1550, 1550, 1550, 1500, 1400, 1300, 1300, 1300. </p>
<p>25% is 1300, 75% is 1550-- but really a kid with a 1300 is actually <em>way</em> low for this school. Even a 1400 is on the low side. 1500 would be the 50% score-- an it is <em>not</em> halfway between 1300 & 1550. So do your homework on the actual spread of scores at the school.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, a reach school instead is a realistic reach (SATs in 40-60% range at a very selective school) ED might help seal the deal.</p>
<p>So "how realistic is the reach?" is my question. If it is the favorite school and a realistic reach, go for it. </p>
<p>If you really want to be strategic, think about having a #2 choice for an ED2 school and get that one ready if ED1 does not work. Decide in advance how you would want to handle a deferral at the ED1 school.</p>
<p>My D did ED1 and was rejected. (She was maybe 45% on SATs for the school.)</p>
<p>She did ED2 at a school with nearly identical selectivity, stats, etc-- and was accepted. Probably even if she had been deferred at #1 she would have done the ED2 application, as in athletics it is important to commit to the school to get the big push from the coach. </p>
<p>In her mind there were actually 3 schools that she liked nearly equally well; would have been happy at any of the three. It was a bit of a tossup but we felt that ED could really be a help in having her app evaluated more carefully. She is a kid who shines in all the details even if her GPA is not 4.0.</p>
<p>If your D has two or three schools that would all be really wonderful and make her very happy, it might be wise to play the ED card at one where your D's stats match most closely to the mid range for the school. I would only worry about "wasting" an ED app on an unrealistic school. </p>
<p>As my D's experience attests, being mid range + ED is no guarantee at any given school, but it obviously means you have a decent chance.</p>
<p>
I think the questions that your daughter should be asking are: #1 What is my first choice? #2 Am I a reasonable contender? #3 Whats the downside? Or in other words what do I have to lose?</p>
<p>These questions are in sequential order. If she cant give a decisive answer to number 1, then go no further. </p>
<p>If she has a clear favorite, then proceed to #2. By reasonable contender, she could fall anywhere in the statistical range of acceptees. It really doesnt matter what the percentage of chance is, except to determine that shes in the ballpark. </p>
<p>If she has a reasonable chance (reach or match) then go on to #3: she and you should turn the process upside down and consider how you would feel if she DIDNT apply ED. Would she be sorry that she didnt give it her best shot? Would she be relieved because it wasnt really her clear first choice (back to question #1)? Other than the inability to compare aid offers and remorse (which means she didnt truthfully answer #1), I cant think of too many other possible downsides.</p>
<p>I guess my point here is that you shouldnt use ED to game the system in general. You should use ED as a boost to get into your favorite college. Find the college first, then worry about whether ED is right for you. Dont start with the general concept of ED then try to find a college that offers ED and that would be acceptable/reasonable. If you dont have a favorite college, if you want to see how things pan out or if you just want to delay the decision, then avoid ED.</p>
<p>Yes, but what if there are two three or four schools at the top of the list, and the kid just wants to be done? Provided FA is not an issue, why not apply ED to a school you feel would be wonderful & where you have a decent chance of acceptance? To some degree these kids' #1 schools are VERY subjective picks, not always thoroughly researched. If you can't decide between the top two, ED can still be useful. Obviously you don;t apply ED to a school that would not thrill you to attend.</p>
<p>I think it is very dangerous to assume that ED ALWAYS gives a large leg up, especially if you are in the middle to lower range of student stats. There is a definite limit at many schools to how much ED helps. It may not pull you up from the bottom of the pile at EVERY school. Unfortunately, as we've seen here time and time again, kids who think they will get in ED often have a hard time switching loyalties when they don't get in or are deferred. </p>
<p>In considering ED, therefore, look very carefully at several factors: try to get the actual admissions stats for those admitted ED (ask the admissions office how people admitted ED compare to those admitted RD. Ask again. And again.) Look closely - do applying ED or EA really provide a significant advantage? How did people with comparable stats to you do in last year's round? Or were most of the ED/EA admits pretty close in terms of stats to those admitted RD? And, it is also important to look at the percentage of all admitted students accepted during the ED round. For instance, U of Penn fills about 45% of its class during the ED round. So, if U of Penn is your absolute first choice, and you have stats within the top 50% of their range, applying ED is a good move. However, at other schools this isn't always the case --- if a school only fills a tiny percentage of its class ED, then the "ED advantage" may not be worth it for a kid who isn't absolutely certain. And, even after the ED school has been chosen, make sure you continue to look at and apply to, other schools. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>we never considered ED because financial aid was critical and we needed to compare package
Not to mention that the school that is perfect in the fall of senior year is often not the school that is 1st in spring of senior year</p>