How has the admissions game changed in the past 5 years? And a request for guidance.

Parents Forum
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<p>If there’s a school that stands head and shoulders above the rest, or that he likes enough to commit to ED, fine. But personally I am not a fan of ED, I think locking up your decisions in October is not good for kids, though colleges love it. EA gives you an early read on applications without committing you to making decisions until April. </p>

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<p>Mathmom, the trouble with EA is that most LACs don’t offer it; of the schools my son is currently considering only one (UChicago, and that’s gotten much more selective, so it’s not as helpful as it once was) offers EA rather than ED. I agree, it’s hard on the kids to narrow their choices to one so early, but given the pressure at the reach schools, forgoing the advantage of ED is a tough choice to make, too. My son, like OP’s friend’s son, has high SATs and less-than-optimal GPA, so applying ED would probably enhance his chances at the schools on his list. </p>

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<p>Yes, the fact that LACs don’t offer EA is unfortunate. </p>

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<p>@mathmom: and at some schools, ED increases your chance of acceptance a lot.</p>

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<p>I know that, PurpleTitan, but at what expense?</p>

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<p>He’s not ready to do ED, that decision’s been made. EA, rolling admissions, yup. Also not going to retake the SATIs, he needs to take the IIs and says that’s the only date available before applications go in. It is what it is, and the constraints are in some ways helpful.</p>

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<p>Quite a few LACs offer an EA option (although very few are in the USNWR top 50).</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/applying/applying-101/articles/2009/09/30/colleges-where-applying-early-action-helps”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/applying/applying-101/articles/2009/09/30/colleges-where-applying-early-action-helps&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;