<p>If she just got rejected now, she had to have applied Early Decision (the ED applicants get notified in early Feburary; the regular decision candidates have to wait until late March).</p>
<p>GW ED I applicants were notified in December. EDII applicants were notified yesterday.</p>
<p>I am also concerned this kind of issue, I think may be your stats is not so strong?</p>
<p>Personally, I think this phenomenon probably occurs due to a strong applicant putting less time/energy/passion/quality/effort/etc into the “less selective” school’s application, perhaps via essays, explanations/descriptions, deadlines, or, as mentioned, demonstrated interest.
It may be sheer laziness, burnout from excessive numbers of applications, or simple subconscious lack of passion for the school.
Or, perhaps, the applicant used a “risky” topic or personal developmental experience that highly selective universities are interested in, whereas more stats-based schools wanted something more straightforward, standard, “how you’re going to contribute to the school,” etc.</p>
<p>That’s my opinion, at least. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch, personally. A person who is “overqualified” may feel more justified in not putting in that final stretch of effort, polishing and analyzing how they presented themselves.</p>
<p>That sounds really accurate, Prussia!.</p>
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<p>I think this has a lot to do with it. </p>
<p>Then there’s the proverbial (or not) “Tufts syndrome,” where second-tier schools reject kids they think are likely to be admitted to a more competitive school, thus increasing their yield and upping their USNWR score. It happened to our school’s val (deferred from Wake Forest) while the barely-top-10-percenters got in. This is probably because of a combination of apathy and over-qualified stats on our val’s part.</p>
<p>Why would you apply ED to a school and not put your all into it? Overconfidence maybe? Seems unlikely.</p>
<p>Know a guy who got accepted by Harvard, denied by University of Florida. </p>
<p>It’s all about how they use you to fill their diverse class.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily overconfidence or not “giving your all”-- perhaps just inexperience. With the earliness of such deadlines, good chance is that the ED school is an applicant’s first application. It can be a bit of a learning experience, and rejection or deferral may snap the applicant into a more focused reality, then knowing to more closely proofread and analyze every word offered (or not offered).
There could be an element of overconfidence from simple naivety, however. Not that the applicant believes they’re the most amazing thing to ever hit the scene, but a belief from their experiences in high school that they don’t necessarily have to pour in their absolute best to get by (they believe their natural talent/gifts shines through at least well enough). This may be because they haven’t surfed CC since their junior year, therefore not knowing the true competitiveness of the schools, or because, as I said, they are naive. Even if you do browse CC, you likely don’t know the quality of the writing most top applicants have, as that’s not posted. Therefore, a person may believe a “good” sample of their writing would be good enough, if that’s a natural talent of theirs.
There’s also the perceived edge in ED admissions that may be the cause. A top applicant may combine inexperience in college app competitiveness with naivety about their uniqueness and also with the idea that ED admissions have higher acceptance rates, therefore feeling more justified that they’ll get in with something that’s just “good” for them, rather than their best. It’s possible, after all, that this college application is the first time the applicant has ever had to try to “sell themselves,” write their accomplishments/resume, etc. After all, not all top applicants went to a prep school where the guidance counselor had any knowledge of how much and what should go into a college application. Many may even be rushed by their counselors to get the app in as quickly as possible, as the prevalence of rollings admissions schools for the common high school student means many less-informed GCs think turning it in early will lead to better chances of admission. (Therefore leading to a rushed app.)</p>
<p>That’s just my two cents. Hypothetically, I could see this being the case for many HS seniors, but I don’t really know.</p>
<p>My cousin, who currently goes to Binghamton, was originally wait-listed there but accepted into UNC, Cornell and NYU.</p>
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<p>Honestly, I would be terrified of getting in to an ED school that I might not feel like attending. If you’re admitted, you’re trapped!</p>
<p>I’m just curious, I applied to GW as a regular decision. But I visited and interviewed and told them nurmerous times that GW is my first choice. So, I’m wonder about your stats? What are is your GPA, SATs, class rank, and activities?</p>
<p>im not “overqualified” and I did ed2. My sats were above their range, my avg a wee bit lower, I spent A LOT of time with all the essays. I applied to media (a lot more selective, i think they only accept 80 kids overall). I didn’t visit the school though.</p>
<p>I didnt get an interview either although I requested. My extra curriculars would be rated about an 8 or 9 out of 10.</p>
<p>Why would you apply ED to GWU and RD to schools like Cornell? If you’d been accepted to GWU, you would have had to attend there. </p>
<p>I believe that if GWU turned you down ED, you are unlikely to get into Cornell or Hopkin, which are much harder to get into than is GWU. Decades ago, GWU was my safety, and I got into it as well as Harvard and Cornell.</p>
<p>I hope you have a real safety – a college easier to get into than is GWU, and that you definitely know you can afford.</p>
<p>i wouldnt have minded going to gw thats why i did ed</p>
<p>Make sure you have a real safety that you can afford and like because an ED rejection by GWU means Cornell and similar schools are not likely to admit you since they are harder to gain acceptance to than is GWU.</p>
<p>how about union, trinity, bu</p>
<p>It matters what your stats are.</p>
<p>I would consider a safer school than the 3 you listed</p>