I see so many posters say that, in order to show true interest, one has to apply ED. Since our family will be full pay, we are interested in our kids applying to multiple schools and seeing how the merit aid falls. (I’ve done tons of research on which schools give merit). Schools must know there are families like ours out there. Many of the schools I see our S19 applying to take a large percentage of their students from the ED pool. Is there any way to let schools know WHY you’re not applying ED? That is has nothing to do with not being interested?
We still may let him apply to some schools that we know give no merit depending on his final GPA and test scores. Those are the schools I’m most worried about not applying Ed - schools like Brown and Northwestern.
I assume that our S19 will have to show interest in other ways. If interviews end up being part of that journey, should he mention why he won’t apply ED?
I would not tell a school that does not offer merit, that you are not applying ED because you want to compare merit offers.
There are also lots of other ways to express interest- visits, interviews, emailing your rep, a great Why X essay.
I don’t agree with that homerdog. All colleges understand that lots of people can’t apply ED for many reasons. True interest can and is expressed in a variety of ways. No doubt you know by now that ED is for the candidate totally committed to one school. Sure, the college knows that person is interested, but that doesn’t mean they disregard interest expressed in other ways and they don’t hold it against a student for not applying ED. Of course, a bird in the and is worth two in the bush for the college, which is why they like it.
I don’t think there is anything to be gained by telling admissions why you aren’t applying early. As I said, they know. Your son can always mention it is his first choice in the additional info section, or ask his counselor to include it in the rec.
Not every school tracks interest so if they don’t showing interest is useless. Check the Common Data Sets to see if they do. I believe Northwestern does and Brown doesn’t but always verify yourself.
Here’s my observation: A likely outcome is that he’ll be waitlisted at a lot of the colleges that take a high percentage of the class ED. Taking so many ED applicants is an indicator that they want a high yield and are looking closely at demonstrated interest. AFter ED1 and ED2, they look at the remaining applicants and try to fill demographic holes (URM, geography, first gen, interesting talents, etc.). If your child does not fall into one of those categories but is a qualified candidate, they may, as a strategy, waitlist him to see how much interest he shows after that. At that point, accept the waitlist IMMEDIATELY with a nice note saying that the school is a top choice. Perhaps visit again.
Here’s an example. I know someone who needed a lot of financial aid and was a tippy-top student. National Merit Finalist. Top scores and GPA. She was interested in a lot of the small LACs and others that take a large portion of the class ED (Tufts, Colgate, Lafayette, Carleton, Wesleyan etc.) and did not apply ED. She was waitlisted at every single one.
@brantly I agree. I think that getting on the waitlists are highly likely for schools that want to see interest. My husband and I are alums at Northwestern so that might help his case in RD if he decides he loves it but still wants to see what other schools offer. Only time will tell. I have a feeling Carleton may be his first choice (even though he’s a soph and this is really early). His counselor has suggested it as a perfect fit and he knows our son well. Our next door neighbor went to Carleton and they are very similar kids. Maybe we save Carleton as the “favorite”, visit the heck out of it, and have our counselor identify it as our son’s favorite in his rec. He plays Ultimate Frisbee…so maybe that will help.
If not applying ED, the best way is to say, “COLLEGE is my top choice, and I will definitely attend if admitted.” If he can’t honestly say the second part of that sentence, say: “COLLEGE is a top choice, and it is very likely I will attend if admitted.”
Perhaps most students with a clear first choice could more realistically say “COLLEGE is my top choice, and I will definitely attend if admitted and the financial aid and scholarships make it affordable.”
We don’t qualify for need-based FA and are focusing on merit schools. Schools are well aware that money is an issue precluding many upper income (but not wealthy) applicants from applying ED. There’s no need to tell the school the obvious.
Our S17 will be applying EA to the schools on his list that offer EA. For all his schools that consider interest, we’re taking the trouble to visit and have him interview. Airfare/hotels/rental car expenditures add up! But theie expense is still way less than the potential prize of 4 years of merit money.
Being stuck on WL is a real possibility. The only solution we have is to have an aceptable fallback. We’ve very carefully selected safety schools that are highly probable admits, are affordable, and that S17 finds attractive. And we visited the safety schools to get S17 “comfortable” with them.
I think this will all work itself out as we get closer and look at schools. Are we willing to pay full tuition for Carleton instead of getting merit at Grinnell? Don’t know yet. Many other comparisons await as well. Does he like and fit at a place like Denison or Pitt or American or Kenyon where there could be merit? If so, hurray! If, in the end, we feel like we are mostly looking at places that do not give merit, I suppose he could apply somewhere ED. It’s tricky for more than the financial reason, though. Not sure most kids are 100% sure they have a first choice in order to choose an ED school so early. Plus, we are trying to stick with the “it’s not where you go, it’s who you are” theory so, applying to a school early and getting all worked up about it does not really seem the right thing to do. Not looking for heartache.
Except for a handful of careers and handful of schools, an undergraduate degree is a commodity. I think fit is important, but I also think many similar type schools will fit. I cannot rationalize spending a quarter of a million dollars on what is essentially a stepping stone.
One other issue is the landscape changes. Temple was a great merit option for the Class of 2018, it has become less so with budget cuts. Tulane has gone up in stature since 2018, a kid that got a presidential then may not today, even worse possibly for 2023
Do admissions offices and financial aid offices “talk” before admits are decided? We have the money to pay. As many others have said, we just don’t really want to spend $250K on undergrad if we can help it. If AO see our FAFSA, it won’t explain why we are going RD instead of ED. It will just look like they aren’t a clear first choice.
I guess that’s the difference between need-blind schools and the rest. Maybe I should try to find that list…
@MurphyBrown Merit list is in very early stages and he wouldn’t apply to all. I’m sure he will have preferences as he gets older and we do visits.
Indiana University
Dickinson
Pitt
Kenyon
Grinnell
Denison
Oberlin
Macalester
Lafayette
Lehigh
American
Rochester
We don’t see him going the Bama route (or Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa, etc). Thinking large university probably not a good fit. Willing to consider Indiana maybe since it’s close and many kids from our high school end up in honors program there, but need to find out more.
Also considering following schools if his GPA and scores end up high enough to get the competitive scholarships that these schools offer: Davidson, Wake Forest, Richmond. Kids at our high school have won these scholarships in the past and our GC is familiar with what it takes.
Schools on the (very early) list with no merit: NU, Wash U, Carleton, Tufts, Brown, Bates, Colorado College, maybe Wisconsin.
We didn’t see it either, but we kept an open mind and visited Bama-- wow !!! It exceeded expectation wildly. The initially skeptical S1 said he could see himself going there.
It didn’t hurt that we stayed an extra day and sprung for 50 yd line tickets for a football game.
@brantly, that is pretty much the story with my daughter. She was WL at two,top choice LAC and another great LAC, then got off two WL. She is,now attending one of those colleges.
I’m starting to find this thread a little disconcerting. Since a student can only apply one place ED, and I know lots of kids who don’t get into their ED schools, many kids are getting in RD and not staring at a bunch of waitlists. This is probably an exception, but our friends son got denied at Columbia but then into all of the other schools she applied to RD including Georgetown and Brown. Of course, she was a stellar student.
I’m curious, if you don’t qualify for need-based aid, why will you submit the FAFSA? Are there some schools on your son’s list that require the need-based paperwork for merit consideration?
Some other merit options are Case Western (often mentioned in discussions that involve Rochester), Lawrence (Appleton, WI) and College of Wooster (Wooster, OH) and maybe St. Olaf (in Northfield, like Carleton, different vibe and less highly ranked but offers substantial merit money).
Edited to add - nobody from my D’s school has gotten into Wash U directly in the RD round (some were waitlisted, some denied outright). Her school has had recent successful applicants to Brown, Cornell, and Stanford and the students were typical high achieving, upper middle class or wealthy, suburban, white or Asian kids.
Our GC recommends that if Wash U is a clear first choice, apply ED.
Wash U does have some merit scholarships, however, they are extremely competitive.
My D will be applying to a few schools on your son’s current list. She won’t be applying ED anywhere. I’ll let you know how it goes!
@mamaedefamilia Yes, we will submit FAFSA. I think some of the merit options still require FAFSA and I’ve heard it’s always best to fill it out just in case something catastrophic happens and you don’t have one on file. Case Western could possibly be on the list but he’s starting to shy away from science subjects as a college major so I think we will be looking for a place with a strong liberal arts component.
