I second and third guess everything about this process, ED/SCEA is just one of those things. You live in a world where this path was taken. You don’t know how that other path might have turned out. So, the best thing to do is to make the rest of the journey positive and interesting.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself. But I see all these people who ED’d and I know my kid’s early target is a huge long shot and I feel waves of FOMO.
I agree with the above comments about not getting on the roller coaster ride with your kid. There will be ups and downs and there is no point in second guessing. That said, plenty of time to apply RD and even EDII if she’s suddenly unhappy with her list.
I will also caution to not assume that she would have gotten in to a certain school just because her SAT score is higher. My daughter did substantially better with college admissions than some of here peers that were ranked above her and with slightly higher test scores. She was one of only 5 in her entire graduating class that took the most rigorous courses offered, had a ton of leadership, and lots of relevant ECs for her major. She’s a low key kid though and not many in her school knew what she was doing outside the classroom or that she never had a study hall, or was winning awards outside of school, etc… I think when you get to a point where you have UW 4.0s and 98th percentile and above on standardized tests, who has a slightly higher weighted GPA or slightly higher test scores doesn’t matter as much as people think.
@citymama9 - My daughter fell in love with Vanderbilt early in the process and insisted on applying ED. As her visits progressed, Vanderbilt slipped slightly down to 4 or 5 on her list. She got cold feet about applying anywhere ED and she changed her ED to RD at the last minute. Probably hurt her at Vanderbilt but it had started to slip. She ended up accepted RD to one of her reaches, University of Southern California, and loves it out in California.
The ED process got her thinking about “what if”. She would never know where she may have been accepted. Also gave us the opportunity to go through her acceptances and evaluate the financials, which is very helpful.
As for Tulane, ED appears to be a way to admit a lot of full pay students. Not visiting is important as well. I don’t know how much it’s changed in New Orleans but I lived there for a while. It’s very dangerous off campus (and on campus). I understand USC has the image of being less than safe, but my daughter and I visited after she was admitted and I didn’t feel it was as unsafe as its reputation (I was raised in Detroit; you develop an antenna for danger). I felt USC was very attentive to the safety of the campus and students. I would not have felt that way about Tulane. The things I saw when in the New Orleans area would scare a parent to death. The police were not only apathetic but a lot of the time they were part of the problem.
One of my DD’s applied ED to a school…but that was after we visited it twice and visited others and she realized she was comparing all other schools to this one AND it was affordable for us at full price.
Tulane admits a substantial portion of the class ED and EA. The acceptance rate overall last year was 17%, not sure what RD was, but guessing quite low. To give an example, my S didn’t submit his EA app in time (on Naviance looked like he was guaranteed admission with 34 ACT/~3.8 uw gpa, lots of APs, ECs), he submitted RD and was waitlisted. The school is big on demonstrated interest, which applying early in some fashion, plus visiting, shows. It your daughter really likes Tulane, can you visit and apply EDll?
@havenoidea Thank you! To answer your question, we shall see. I’m not a big fan of the party scene and the nightlife aspect of New Orleans.
@jcwjnw99 I always thought New Orleans wouldn’t be the safest place to go to school. Thank you.