<p>to ease up applicants' pain and anxiety.. how bout that.....</p>
<p>Hmm..'twould be nice to know, but I'm okay with the current system, actually. The wait makes the eventual acceptance all that much better (knock on wood).</p>
<p>I don't know--the competition is already so fierce and college-like, perhaps it's better, since the kids involved are much younger, to keep things the way they are. That would involve more strategy and probably more application, which, in my opinion, can become too much for thirteen-year-olds.</p>
<p>This process would be limited to people who do not apply for Financial Aid. You can't have someone commit to something without knowing what the price tag is. Only people who aren't applying for FA know the cost up front. So, do you think a top BS is going to create a process for entry that's reserved exclusively for the most financially secure demographic? This isn't going to happen. The trend is to move away from Early Action...and I don't see a top BS swimming against the current.</p>
<p>I think EA/ED would be pretty cool, but on the other hand, most of us are only fourteen years old and I don't think we should make it even more competitive.</p>
<p>as a senior, I have to say EA/ED ease up the pressure of many kids here..of course, kids like me who didnt get in ED are disappointed...one can always snub the ED school if the financial package doesnt work out... and since the top schools meet 100% demonstrated need, it shouldnt be a problem....it also gives kids a chance to tell the schools that they are really their first choice..and the school can identify kids who truly wanna go there..it's a win win situation</p>
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it also gives kids a chance to tell the schools that they are really their first choice..and the school can identify kids who truly wanna go there..it's a win win situation
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<p>That argument makes me want to change my mind. It would be nice knowing if we got into our first choice school, that way, if we did, we could notify the other schools so we could free up some spaces for applicants that really want to go there.</p>
<p>OK, true, it might up some people's chances.....but to tell the truth, it sounds slightly ridiculous to me...this is high school, not college. The college you go to does not entirely depend on what high school you go to...besides, that would make the boarding school application process seem...idk...exaggerate its presitge and actual importance? High school is merely a builder for college, somewhere to learn. You want an excellent education, OK, you can get a similar experience at more than five schools (i.e. andover, exeter, groton, milton, deerfield!) at dozens of other schools! </p>
<p>We don't need a whole additional ED/EA plan to add to the stress of applying to BS...people need to learn that there is a life after getting rejected/accepted/deferred to boarding schools! </p>
<p>I was totally upset when I got deferred by several schools I wanted to go to, but luckily I got to go to a school that makes me have a wonderful time and getting an education superior to that of the majority of U.S. kids....a school that is supposedly not in the same rank as andover or exeter, but I certainly wouldn't switch places with a kid at any other school! </p>
<p>I read a book called "The Secret Lives of Overacheivers" which I think I might soon be starting a thread about on the High School forum...and in it, the author notes the insane, out-of-control competetiveness and desperation of kids who have their lives defined by ranking/schools they get into. Yes, this BS application might feel like the most important turning point of your life. It might possibly be. But so can dozens of other things impact your future life. idk...I just feel like the pressure by kids' parents, or kids themselves, to get in can be too crazy nowadays....</p>
<p>sorry for going off on a tangent...</p>
<p>I love that book! :) Sorry, I know, I talk about it way too much, but it's actually one my bed right now. I'm using it as a reference for that paper I'm writing.
Oh, by the way, I think you mean 'The Secret Lives of Driven Kids'--the main title is '
'The Overachievers'.</p>
<p>Oh yes, you're right...my bad....read it a couple of months ago, so I couldn't quite remember...I'm actually thinking of sending a library copy to one of my overachiever friends and making them pass it on to another overachiever friend...like a chain mail, you understand...I think everyone should read the book...it's very enlightening and entertaining.</p>
<p>I've read it too. :D I want to be in this special-overachievers-reading club you have. ;)</p>
<p>Does reading this book about overachievers make us overachievers (it's probably not a book that many eighth graders would have read) and thus make us need to tone down the overachieving a little bit and spend more time conforming to the "normal kid" stereotype? Just a question. :)</p>
<p>hmm...i suppose it depends. The book isn't exactly bashing overachievers. There are two sections - one focuses on these real-life kids in an enormously competetive, highly-ranked public school in Maryland, I think, and about their lives, their high school/academic struggles, etc., and the other section focuses on studies and statistics - it shows that the whole college-app. thing is just way too overhyped - and the drastic measures kids and parents will do nowadays to get in - it was rather enlightening for me...there are tons of shocking stats in the book...I think the author's message is that you have to be happy with yourself as well, and that the college you get in is not your life...as long as you realize that, then do whatever. But no, it's not like she spends the entire book heatedly criticizing overachievers. When I finished the book I decided that I wanted to work hard, do things, etc. but not make college the focus of my existence, like a few people I know. The book really is quite interesting and enjoyable.</p>
<p>I actually felt that she was sympathizing with overachievers. She expressed great gratitude and love to the students she spent a lot of time with interviewing (at that one high school). She's just trying to make life easier for them.</p>
<p>Haha, tomm. I think that's a good point, and I know I thought of that while reading it. But I wanted to read the book because it seemed interesting - I don't know if it defines me as an overachiever, but I understand exactly what you were saying. I actually think it does. It shoes an interest in the subject and a supposed first-hand observation of it.</p>
<p>you guys are all so sad.</p>
<p>early action/admission isn't a good idea, I think. Most top colleges have gotten rid of them already, and it tends to advantage the advantaged.</p>
<p>you've all read the secret lives of overachievers. that's so sweet.</p>
<p>Julia, actually, Yale is a top school and it hasn't scrapped the EA/ED plan. Actually, seventy percent of Yale's students are kids who applied ED or EA.</p>
<p>It's interesting that you would advocate for ED Bear. In fact had you been accepted by your ED school, you would be forced into going to it vs. your current matric which is also an excellent school. Time has allowed you to filter through the prestige factor, outside influence etc...... and you are a high school senior... imagine how exponentially worse that would be for a 14 year old! Sorry... I don't agree with that concept at all.</p>
<p>Just another thing to supplement...it may feel that getting into the prep school of your choice is the single most important thing right now. I know I felt that way. But it's really not. It certainly will affect your future, but what doesn't? In a couple of years, you most likely will not care.</p>