Taking the test is required at child’s school. The test is administered at school so there’s no way out.
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At a recent college visit, the AO said it was worth it to apply to scholarships for $500 or $1,000. IMO, that 25 yo has never had to nag a teen to do a task. 
A lot of these scholarships go unused, he said, because people don’t know about them.
I think it is likely no one wants to bother with writing an essay just for $500.
If the college bill is $50,000 per year or $2,000 per week, the $500 is not worth the time.
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We will ED nowhere, because we can’t pay full pay and need to compare merit offers.
We will do non-binding EA, where possible.
Good luck and hope your kiddo is accepted!
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And colleges typically use TE and other benefits as rationale for lower pay. Yet they dont tell you the tuition benefit is darn near impossible to get unless you force your kids to go to the college you work at.
My college does not have the majors of interest for my S23 so I may basically be screwed out of this supposed “employee benefit.”
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We are doing some EAs as well in hopeful safeties but want to make sure to play that ED card…
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We’ve known plenty of people that have used TE successfully. The problem is that a lot of people are all trying for the same ‘top’ schools on the list so it’s harder for those schools.
Low gpa kid here so I have combed through the list. I tried to focus on higher percentage of awards listed on the TE site, plus I have watched the the late openings lists for the past couple years as well. My fingers are crossed!
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My kiddo will EA at her most desired reach. And the one public on her list does not have EA, so that’s it. Not sure how people EA “where possible “, when (it is my understanding) that you can only EA to one private? No ED’s here as we need to compare financial awards.
I did just discover, or realize that the CIP says it awards full tuition and that most applicants get at least one award, so need to review those again as it seems a better chance than TE. There was only one overlap on her list. If anyone knows about that program or there is a thread please share.
Not all EAs are restricted even for privates (UChicago EA for example isn’t restrictive and there are others, MIT used to be completely unrestricted though I think it is changing?) and some are partly restrictive (can EA anywhere else but not ED like Georgetown and ND) as you say you can also EA publics. The rules are complicated and you really have to look at each school you want to EA for restrictions.
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Definitely send 4s and 5s and in some cases it might make sense to send a 3.
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We are touring NW very soon! No ED decision at this time.
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Correct, except that EA at UChicago doesn’t help if you’re unhooked - they’ll likely defer and prompt you to apply ED2. But worth a shot if UChicago is indeed a good fit.
Northeastern is another private school that offers unrestricted EA but uses it the same way as Chicago.
No MIT still offers EA. It’s Caltech that’s changing to REA.
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I don’t think EA ever really helps with admissions. It is harder to get into Georgetown ea than regular for example. Need to ED or ED2 to get the significant bump…sadly for us all. Of course EA is great for peace of mind. And there are some odd exceptions like UMd basically only accepts kids who apply EA. And I think some REA schools only give you the legacy bump if you apply REA.
Just be aware some schools require EA for Merit considerations or Honors college.
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Unless you’re constrained by the number of essays you can write, there really isn’t any downside to applying unrestricted EA.
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For some schools, like UMD, 97% of the class is admitted EA so if you wait until RD your chance of admission is much smaller.
Northwestern is a good choice for ED. I think half the class is admitted in the ED round.
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EA can also lead to the ability to place a housing deposit which can lead to an earlier spot to choose housing for some schools. We are encouraging our S23 to get apps in as early as possible. Thankfully he has seen the schools he’s applying to. He will visit anywhere again he gets admitted to before making his final decision.
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Yes seems like most of the very selective schools admit a huge portion of the class ED. And agree re U Md - my kid may actually be applying there as a safety and that is an odd exception to the EA. Some schools like UW Seattle don’t have EA but their regular admission deadline is basically at EA time! So no shortcut to looking at every school. We aren’t focused on merit so not really looking at those deadlines. Don’t think any schools S23 is applying to have it anyway.
Are you in-state? What major is your kid applying to?
With an overall acceptance rate of 32% this admission cycle UMD doesn’t meet the typical definition of a safety school. And the acceptance rate is lower for OOS applicants and significantly lower for several majors.
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Hmm we are OOS and haven’t really looked much into the school to be honest. The major would be astronomy/astrophysics. Not typically a capped major but UMD is strong in it.