<p>My son applied ED to a school in mid-November (the ED deadline was 12/1).
Starting a few weeks ago the school has been doing ED notifications in "batches."
The latest batch was two days ago when everybody from my son's HS who applied ED was either rejected or deferred... except for him. He still has not heard.</p>
<p>The school's admissions office Twitter feed has said that the batch earlier in the week was the last for December (as the admissions office is closed for the holidays) and that they will be doing more notifications "weekly through January."</p>
<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this not defeat the entire purpose of ED?</p>
<p>(and yes, we checked, his application is complete)</p>
<p>Now he will not be able to apply ED-II to any school since the 1/1 ED II deadlines will have passed and furthermore he now has to submit (and pay for) a whole raft of RD applications. The point of ED is that you are supposed to get a decision BEFORE you have to send out your RD apps.</p>
<p>Am I missing something here?</p>
<p>I'm tempted to have him apply ED II to another school anyway and if he gets in and then school #1 comes calling with a subsequent ED acceptance, play the "all bets are off after January 1st card."</p>
<p>Just horrible and now with no way to contact anyone until after January 1? That seems so unfair and as you say, really defeats the purpose of ED. It sounds like you have no choice but to submit the RD applications. Can you email the adcon for your area and hope to get a response?</p>
<p>My son did email him today. So far no response.</p>
<p>I really don’t get how they think this is acceptable. He basically “threw away” his one ED application on this school, since they are effectively not treating his application as an ED app.</p>
<p>My son’s school did something very similar (RIT). His buddy heard in December and S didn’t hear until mid-January (both ED apps). It made for some tense weeks. He did have a rolling acceptance though as a safety. I don’t understand why they do it that way. </p>
<p>It sounds like your son’s school may be more selective, if they rejected or deferred everyone. Hope it’s a good sign for him that he hasn’t heard yet!</p>
<p>You made a decision to apply ED. The right thing to do is submit RD applications. Your son could have done one or two of these already. Many kids applying ED also do a rolling admissions school so they have a very early acceptance in case the ED doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>I would not suggest your son apply anywhere EDII. He has a pending ED application. I’m sure that ED school also accepts RD applications.</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s fair, but ED I and ED II are still ED and you both signed an agreement to only apply to one ED school. Two wrongs don’t make a right.</p>
<p>I’m inclined to think that by not making a decision by 1/1, they are not treating his application as an ED application. His plan was always to apply to an ED II school in the event of a deferral or rejection from the ED I school.</p>
<p>The ED school isn’t obligated to meet a deadline to make ED2 possible, they need to meet their stated deadline. The OPs son agreed to ED at school #1 with a decision stated of ‘early January’. This leaves the possibility that he may miss ED2. If he was not okay with this he needed to consider it before he applied ED.</p>
<p>I would apply to EDII. If he hears back from his ED I early Jan, he could withdraw his ED II application before a decision is made. The ED I school is treating it like a rolling admission.</p>
<p>Two years ago my friend’s daughter had a similar incident with an ED test optional school. Her daughter’s acceptance was hung up over receiving first trimester grades (this was the college’s fault the HS sent them a couple of times) and her ED decision did not come until close to February. They felt they had good reason to consider the ED deal null and void and she submitted an ED2 application. In the end, it all worked out - she got in - pulled back her RD and ED2 application and is very happy at the school. However, it made for a very stressful couple of months for the family.</p>
<p>Did the rules in the ED agreement you and your S signed promise a decision by a certain date?</p>
<p>I’d consider the non-response by the college’s “typical” date to be a deferral. I don’t know if I’d feel confident having him do an EDII app, though, in case the two schools in question view it differently and both reject him for breaking ED rules. Right or wrong, colleges hold all the cards in these battles and I don’t think your son could win. They won’t care what his “original plan” was. They only care about their published rules, which your son and you had to sign than you had read and understood. </p>
<p>I also think your son should have gone ahead and submitted at least a few RD applications earlier in the fall while waiting for the ED response. This is what most people do. Putting all your eggs in one ED basket and waiting for an answer before completing other applications is not the point of ED. My D completed 1 ED and 5 RD applications, then withdrew the RDs when she got the ED acceptance. It’s my understanding that that is what most people do. My niece, OTOH, put all her eggs in an ED basket last year, got deferred on 12/1, and spent December filling out the rest of her applications while her friends were receiving their EA acceptances. Didn’t make for happy holidays at her house.</p>
<p>This is not to in any way excuse the way this admissions office has acted. They are pushing the envelope of the rules to your son’s detriment, and it really does seem unfair. Frankly, I’d be tempted to withdraw his entire application there and go somewhere else, if this is the way this college normally treats its students!</p>