<p>My Junior D just received an "Priority Early Application" from one of the schools on her list-for an out of state school we were planning on visiting this summer but haven't gotten a chance to yet. They say there's no strings attached; there's no commitment, she gives her answer May 1 just like a RD candidate. If we do this, they'll waive the application fee and the essay (I find this to be very smooth; there's something in it for both of us!) Here's the catch; it has to be there in three weeks! This might be a problem getting her Guidance Counselor to move quickly, but the teacher's recommendations are done. On the one hand, it would be nice to know if she's accepted somewhere, but it's so early-- we haven't even seen the school yet! I'd appreciate some input. Any thoughts, pro or con?</p>
<p>My son did one of these, and it was great. At that school there wasn't EA offered. There was only RD or ED. This was really like an EA app with the fee waiver. We did not get the priority app until September. I guess they must be earlier every year! I cannot imagine that most students have recs even requested at the end of their junior year. My son requested his recs the first week of school, senior year. Why not have your child talk with the school's admissions office? They may mean that only the student's info needs to be sent in 3 weeks. BTW, even with an early admit, you may need to wait until April to see merit and financial aid. This happened to us with this school, and the aid was worse than at any other school he applied to, and no merit money either (only loans). Needless to say, he said goodbye to that school. BTW, it was very much a safety school.</p>
<p>Many students apply to colleges without visiting first. If this school is of interest to your child, and the acceptance is not binding, do the application. You can always go visit afterward. You don't have to select this school in the final round if you don't feel it's right.</p>
<p>How did she get letters of recommendation so early? As I recall the teachers send them directly to the colleges...so what did they do with them instead? Thanks.</p>
<p>As long as it is non-binding, I'd suggest she go ahead and apply. Your daughter will feel a lot less pressure if she has an acceptance in hand, even if she chooses not to attend.</p>
<p>Weenie, I'm not the OP...but at our HS all letters of recommendation go to the guidance department. We have a registrar who takes care of all the mailings of recommendations, transcripts, and applications once they have been reviewed by the GC. The registrar keeps all letters on file. Our teachers do not send the letters directly to the colleges themselves unless the college specifically asks for that. DD had her letters done at the end of her junior year also, and they were on file (still are and are now being sent out for scholarship applications). Whenever a student brings in a completed request, the registrar pulls the required materials and sends them off. Since most kids are filing online these days, she does not send the applications, but does send most everything else in one packet (which most colleges prefer).</p>
<p>Boy, I would have said "Do it" if my son had received one of those. Nothing better than an acceptance real early in the process. :)</p>
<p>thumper - Thanks. I'm going to look into that. About the only thing son #1 had to do outside the guidance office was have those letters sent. He gave addressed envelopes to all the teachers. They are changing some things this year though, claiming they don't want to be a post office anymore. Frankly that's fine with me - I'd rather son #2 had more control over all aspects of his applications.</p>
<p>I see no "cons", SpringfieldMom. S received one of these (tho not in junior year and we had visited the school), but it affords your D a nice safety in hand. Some schools use this option for kids they really want and there can then be merit $$ forthcoming some time later. This happened to S.</p>
<p>Our school, like yours, had the kids ask teachers for recs at the end of junior year. So I suspect you've got a good Guidance Office, who can put the package together for the deadline. If not, I agree with the poster who said that these deadlines often are for the student portion (and fee, if any); supporting materials can often lag.</p>
<p>I'm become very surprised about these mailings. Certainly seems to be no downside at all, particularly if the application is free. I'm just amazed at how early this is. My son has received two mailings this week "inviting" him to apply and receive a quick answer. In both cases the application (including transcript, scores, and GC report) need to be at the college before his last day of school! Not sure how he could actually accomplish this . . . :)</p>
<p>I guess that creates a lot of pressure on teachers this time of year. They are grading finals and papers, entering grades, and now they have to write recs for many students before school ends!</p>
<p>Just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and advice. Junior D's application (first one-eeek!) was mailed "priority mail" today. D's GC and rec teachers were most supportive and got right on it-in fact, I think the GC beat us to the mailbox with the transcript (up to the end of the 3rd quarter-4th quarter grades will be mailed to the college separately). What I didn't know is the College Board wants 3-5 weeks to get SATs to the colleges-we'lll keep that in mind for the next one!</p>
<p>Great, good luck! About the SATs, my son sent his scores to the schools that he knew he was applying to during the last week of August. The schools had his scores within 2 weeks. I think sending them early was a good idea.</p>
<p>Just thought I'd let you know, we got the (very) early word yesterday via email-she's accepted to Marietta College!</p>
<p>Congratulations! </p>
<p>Now you'll have to start a new thread and be the first entry on "Master List of Acceptances -- 2007"</p>
<p>But it is very nice to know that you can relax with an acceptance already in hand -- it may make for a relatively stress-free year, especially if your daughter decides she likes Marietta after visiting later this summer. One reason that colleges do this early application thing is so that they have plenty of time to try to win good students over -- so you can probably expect this campus to be doing a lot to try to win your D's appreciation and loyalty. (More mail, invitations to various events... and --hopefully -- a nice offer of some merit aid).</p>
<p>Congrats. And darn . . . I was hoping my S' "get a decision by July 12" school would be first! I'm sure it's very nice to have on in the bank.</p>
<p>I guess I'm the first to report merit $$$ for the class of 2011...Just found out today, she's guaranteed $6,000 and invited compete for a more scholarship $$$ in February.</p>
<p>Congratulations to you and D. It's great have a school under the belt no matter what happens during the application season. It's better to have a school under the belt with some money.</p>
<p>Now you have to start 2 new threads: one for acceptances 2007 and another for scholarships, merit money.</p>
<p>again, great news.</p>
<p>Congratulations! It is such an exciting time for the whole family, and each acceptance and scholarship is such a nice compliment to the applicant! Hope this is the first acceptance and scholarship, with several more to follow!</p>