My D21 was deferred at Wesleyan from ED1 to ED2. Her counselor basically said that meant an admit w solid fall grades. She cleared that bar with straight A’s and ended up w an ED2 rejection. I was furious that she had not been given the rejection outright in ED1 and the opp to apply somewhere else ED2. (Ended up at Colby RD and is thrilled she isn’t at Wesleyan so all is well that ends well).
2 Likes
This chart shows acceptance rates for ED vs EA vs RD:
That’s a helpful chart though the rates appear to be for high school class of 2021. Some ED rates for class of 2023 here, albeit less comprehensive: Class of 2027 Early Decision and Early Action Results - College Kickstart
1 Like
(accidental double post)
Yes, I believe it’s for students who entered in Fall of 2021, Class of 2025.
That is maddening and borderline unethical. Coincidentally my daughter was accepted to Colby and denied from Wesleyan RD in 2020.
2 Likes
Hi Everyone. Joining the club and wishing you all the best. After watching my D21 apply to 18 schools and go through the year with ED1 and ED2 deferrals, waitlists, and rejections, and finally landing on (the perfect) school in May… D24 has said she’s staying out of the game and applying to one EA, one ED and then if she HAS to 3 RD. All match/likely, all far away in warm climates. Her common app and ED supplement is done. Any other Rollins families here?
11 Likes
Is the HS transcript uploaded in the CA such that it automatically goes to any school that gets newly submitted or does one have to ask for a transcript every time? Same question about reccomendation letters.
What’s really the difference to a kid if they get waitlisted though vs deferred?
I think a waitlist is a more clear message in most cases. Waitlist statistics are reported on the CDS, and while the numbers can vary year to year, that is itself information in the sense it communicates how contingent waitlist admissions can be. And often, the waitlist admissions are very low at highly selective colleges, so I think that can help release such applicants to do things like ED II.
But in any event, however you handle it, I think there is usually better information available about the implications of being waitlisted by a given college.
4 Likes
I think deferral has more of a “still in the game” illusion. You convince yourself that the school just hasn’t made a decision about you yet.
The WL on the other hand, the school has made a decision and now your spot is dependent on someone else’s choice (not really, but how it feels). I think most people view it as a “oh, well” and move on.
5 Likes
Yup, and what made it even more infuriating at UVA is that they share a ton of data beyond what’s available on the CDS, meaning you can see how few early round deferrals were accepted in RD (Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Unofficial 2022-2023 #UVA Admission Statistics). So the deferral charade was even more transparent.
I do give them credit for ending it, although I’m guessing there was a lot of self-interest involved considering how many apps they were adding to the RD (re)review pile for seemingly little benefit.
1 Like
I’ve read that most schools don’t want the optional stuff and extra recommendations. Most colleges will say on their admissions pages their take on optional materials.
My kid is a bit lucky here as their STEM subject recommender is also the coach of their main EC so it’s a combo rec.
Application number 8 is now officially out the door. Two more apps are due November 15th but those are essentially finished as well. S24 looks a little happier today and has a spring in his step. Hopefully, he keeps that sunny attitude through December!
8 Likes
The high school transcript is typically sent via a separate service such as SCOIR, Parchment or Naviance, as are letters of recommendation. You can to determine what each school requires: Official transcript or SRAR or Common App grade entry. Your high school counselor is perhaps best equipped to answer these questions.
1 Like
Momentum has declined again for supplementals for REA app due 11/1. At this point it is clear any burst of progress will be followed by a period of low activity. Hopefully S24 still feels like this ends with his best possible application.
1 Like
I think this might vary by what system the high school uses. If the school just uploads the transcript to the common app, then it goes to every college the student applies to without any additional work from the high school or guidance counselor. The same is true with recommendations. I am the “guidance counselor“ for my homeschooled son, so I upload materials to the guidance counselor portion of the app. Once I have done it, I don’t have to do anything additional if he adds or removes schools.
However, if the school uses a third-party service that interfaces with the common app or sends materials directly to the school, it might require additional work. I’m not familiar with those.
6 Likes
This is my understanding as well. My older kids’ high school used Naviance to upload transcripts and the high school’s process involved the student emailing the counselor to upload it for each school. My senior’s high school has Naviance but does not use it for this purpose. Instead, my senior simply invited the high school counselor directly through Common App, and once the high school counselor has uploaded the transcript and counselor rec for one college to Common App, it became available for the student to add to any additional colleges they later put in Common App. Same for teacher recs.
1 Like
Maybe he is mulling things over in between. I do think there is value in “sleeping on it,” so to speak. Tomorrow will be a new day.
In our house, tomorrow will be THE day, here’s hoping. Planning a full court press for tomorrow. Always looking ahead, I’m already swinging away from being worried about the apps getting done and back to worrying about the list.
1 Like
I think a lot of us are in the same boat. S24 is so close but is dragging his feet on making the necessary edits/changes to one of his essays. He needs everything ready to be reviewed by his GC for the final time on Monday so he can submit Monday night. I try to remind myself that even submitting the best possible application is no guarantee - at the end of the day it just needs to be authentic. As his ED school is a high reach, and he is unhooked, I’ve been trying to manage expectations and need to manage my own as well.
4 Likes