<p>My kid is a junior who is very interested in Pomona. She has a 2340 SAT, 4.0 UW, 4.8 weighted GPA, assume rigorous course schedule, strong EC's etc. (Still waiting for SAT 2's but optimistic those will be high.) Undecided major, maybe chemistry. We had a sort of vague plan to have her apply Stanford SCEA (she's a legacy), followed by ED2 at Pomona. But the more D thinks about it, the more certain she becomes that Pomona is her first choice. She visited last October and we will visit again this Fall. She's also legacy at Claremont McKenna and she'll apply there too but thinks Pomona is a better fit for her.</p>
<p>At first glance, it appears that applying ED to Pomona would give her a nice boost. The acceptance rate seems to be 26% versus 12% or so for RD, correct? But I just finished reading this thread about ED: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1647596-early-decision-and-the-college-crap-shoot.html">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1647596-early-decision-and-the-college-crap-shoot.html</a>. Some of the comments really emphasize that for LAC's there are quite a lot of recruited athletes in the ED statistics. Also I'm unclear on whether Questbridge students are counted in the ED statistics. So is the 26% ED acceptance rate misleading? How much (if any) of an acceptance boost do you think you get if you're an unhooked but otherwise strong candidate? And what's the difference in acceptance rate between ED1 and ED2?</p>
<p>By the way, we do realize that Stanford, Pomona and CMC should all be considered reaches. D has a list (albeit not yet complete) of other schools that fall more into the match/safety category. </p>
<p>Some of those questions you have to address to the admissions directors of the college. You are right that at the small schools with lots of sports teams, and on top of that have other programs going for them, the actual number of seats get tight, very tight. Their yield is good enough so that they do not have to worry too much about locking kids into ED. You also need to ask wha the breakdowns in numbers between ED1 and 2 are, though you may not get any real info, expecially when you try to get meaningful numbers. If you get them,share, as I’ve asked admissions directors a few time and did not get useful numbers. </p>
<p>She does have a good chance , though yes, the schools are reaches given their admit rates. Schools often like to lock in those high SAT scores in ED too., so that it gives them some more flexibility during RD and if forced to give ED stats, those with numbers like your DD’s will give the ED pool a boost. There is no telling what the SAT scores will be for the RD crowd, If the pickin’s are slim in that regard, down the rating will go, so, yes, that is a very big plus in ED as many of the ED crowd are kids looking for an edge with numbers kinda on that edge, adequate but not to knock your socks off. A 2340 is very good. No telling who who’d scoop her up at RD. Comes down to how many high stat kids are in that ED pool, and my guess is not all that many because many will be holding out for Stanford, HPY,etal , if you get what I am saying. </p>
<p>I have no idea whether Questbridge tends to be ED or not. But that isn’t going to be that much of an issue if it is. Better for you that the lower stat groups are in the ED pool. All the more valuable that 2340 will be. </p>
<p>So I ink the advantage is very good for her. 100 points lower on the SATs and nope, not quite the effect one would necessarily predict and that post is a good reason why.</p>
<p>EDII has a similar acceptance rate as RD (14% vs 11%). EDI has almost double the acceptance rate (21%). It would be to her benefit to apply EDI. I honestly think it is a waste to apply to EDII due to the little advantage it grants.</p>
<p>I did ED1, got deferred and then accepted. I was very unhooked (at least in my opinion). My SAT wasn’t top notch like your daughter’s. The way I see it is that she is either going to get accepted or deferred (they are not going to just reject her early on with that beautiful SAT staring at them). When deferred, if she writes a very strong LOCI (letter of continued interest) and shows them her amazing mid-year report, she will have a very high chance of acceptance. This was basically my case. After being deferred, I showed them how much I wanted to come to Pomona by spending a lot of time writing the letter and showing them my mid-year report grades. Back in November, I was also deciding between SCEA Stanford and ED Pomona. Looking back, I am so glad I didn’t do SCEA Stanford, since out 40+ kids who applied to Stanford with SCEA, only one got in and she was heavily hooked (international science award). </p>
<p>btw, on another note, 5 of the 6 kids who got in from my school into Stanford were RD folks. Even if you do decide not to apply ED for Pomona, I would strongly suggest applying early someplace else and saving Stanford for Rd, since applying to SCEA Stanford seems to be a waste if you are not a well-paying legacy or a heavily-hooked student. Best of luck with your daughter’s decision and wish you the very best!</p>
<p>Generally, ED is the way to go if she is absolutely certain. It gives the school a message about your interest. My daughter wanted Stanford, had several Stanford hooks, got deferred in EA, then rejected (3rd generation legacy, URM), but got into Pomona RD. So you never know. But with the huge yield this year (class is 470 instead of the expected 400), next year’s class will be small and the admission rate very low. ED will be the way to go. Your daughter’s grades are attractive and SAT’s are great. Remember though that there are many thousands like her and the rest of the application is key. When you get into the 10% admission rate world your kid needs to have done something that really stands out. Quality over quantity when it comes to EC’s.</p>