<p>^ Excellent idea, and ED should indeed be used only at the one dream school above all others, when there is (not yet) any interest in comparing FA offers, when you’re ready to take it or (sadly) leave it. At schools like Dickinson that commit to making the same FA offers at ED and RD times, and don’t give merit aid, the same dream school disappointment applies to ED and RD. At least with ED there is additional time to develop a new favorite, perhaps adding additional apps to those already prepared.</p>
<p>On the topic of ED… at the info session of a highly competitive LAC (Liberal Arts College), the AO warned that if an applicant applies ED to a college and gets rejected instead of accepted or deferred, then that applicant is probably aiming too high.</p>
<p>Exeter only allows 8 applications and if you choose to apply early to any school the college counseling office insists you treat that as ED, if you are accepted you must attend, therefore you can only apply to one early regardless of the college’s policy. They said it is “non sibi” to the rest of the students. I personally think this makes it much harder on the kids. </p>
<p>If my D decides to apply anywhere early the plan with our family is to still proceed with the rest of the applications, get everything done in a timely manner and submit it; that way if the ED is a denial there is no scrambling around trying to complete applications at the last second over Christmas break. But I honestly don’t know if she will be applying early within those parameters.</p>
<p>Burb, that is interesting. I thought ED candidates were accepted or deferred to the general applicant pool for regular admission. It hadn’t occurred to me that they might be flat out denied.</p>
<p>Stanford, which has EA, has a notoriously high rejection rate from its EA pool. Yale, also EA, defers about half the EA applicants…an absurd number since they probably couldn’t make offers to that many. Students debate which system they’d prefer: getting it over with (Stanford) or the thought of still being in the game (Yale). Harvard and Princeton are returning to the EA game starting next fall. It will be interesting to see what approach they take. Remember, these options are there for the colleges’ benefit.</p>
<p>Here’s a good explanation of how one LAC looks at the whole ED v RD decision: [In</a> historically hard year, 189 students admitted via ED I - The Bowdoin Orient](<a href=“http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=2011-01-21§ion=1&id=5]In”>http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=2011-01-21§ion=1&id=5)</p>
<p>Thanks PhotoOp. That’s good to know about Exeter.</p>
<p>Just FYI. Last school year Blair restricted the # of applications to 10. Applicants who went over that amount were charged a fee. I forget how much it was; perhaps $100 or less per application. This was waived for some circumstances, especially fa applicants. Now I cannot find this fee mentioned on the website, so perhaps they aren’t doing this anymore.</p>
<p>@PhotoOp Do the universities or colleges that use common application count separately or as one institution?</p>
<p><em>bump</em> to the top</p>
<p>Transferring my thread to here (thanks Periwinkle!) - I love the idea of figuring out what it is about the school that the alumni interviewer can’t shut up about. A lesson I could have used 35 years ago! </p>
<p>My kid who was all sports and a little bit of writing 2 years ago is now writing for the school newspaper, a fervent participant in competitive speech, and a convert to the midwest idea of participation in music (I went to the solo and ensemble festivals 40 years ago. I had forgotten about them. they still exist. both my kids are now going). Every idea I had about where would be a good place for her has changed. </p>
<p>But maybe not. My description was “good writing and arts, participation in music, and an expectation that we all do science and math whether or not we’re good at it”. The first two names popping up from the combined wisdom of the CC parent body are St Olafs and St. Johns - names that I knew either because an old acquaintance who always stood out for quiet accomplishment went to St. Olaf’s, or remembering that the name of St. JOhn’s has popped up in odd places at odd intervals, accompanied by “if I had to do it over again” thoughts. </p>
<p>Will report in if I get some enlightenment, but thanks again for the good information about where to start</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior and we have enjoyed the Saturday “open houses” the colleges are having throughout the fall. No interviews, but student led tours, visiting dorms, information sessions, often lunch, and in one case tickets to the football game. Find these open houses on the college’s websites, they all seem to have several. She was not sure of a major so we split up and checked out several majors (they meet with groups of families in different rooms) and gained a great deal of info. These visits are fun and low-stress, and she has decided on size, major and type of school by seeing about 5 colleges so far (small, medium, big, huge, private, LAC, performing arts, public) - we went for range. Kept away from “reaches” in the beginning. Register, since “demonstrated interest” is often a factor and starting as a junior can’t hurt.</p>
<p>I started this thread two years ago when we were just starting the college admissions process and now that it is over (except for the fun part) I wanted to share my insights on the bs student college admissions process (for my d at least). </p>
<p>First, my hope was that she would handle the selection and applications completely by herself. This was necessary for our family dynamics, we all operate in two gears, my way or no way. Since we could not have three people insisting it be done their way, I thought it was best to leave the selection and application decisions to my d. This worked mostly. Where she needed help was applying to merit programs that required early submission of applications. She was not focused on this and almost missed a great opportunity that ultimately resulted in a great merit scholarship. Also, near the end of the process we (the royal we) insisted she apply to three elite schools d did not have on her list and she did not want to attend even though she was a legacy at one. Her judgment turned out to be best, she was not accepted at any of the three. As a compromise we “allowed” her to apply to two schools that she absolutely loved and we hated. Again, she was right and was accepted to both and will likely be attending one in the fall. The only other help she needed in the application process was a few pushes (shoves) near the end to complete her applications. She decided to wait until after December 21, 2012, to complete her applications, just in case the world ended and she wasted her precious time. Again, it worked out in her favor, the world did not end and she also completed her applications on time. </p>
<p>The major thing I would do differently is the amount of contact I had with her college adviser. We met once and spoke only a few times. I assumed the school would alert her to merit aid opportunities and that nominations for scholarships that required a recommendation from the school would happen differently. I found myself having to advocate for her with her counselor in one instance. It made my d uncomfortable and I am sure I made the adviser uncomfortable. If I had understood the process a little better the frantic, insistent last minute phone calls would have been avoided. </p>
<p>Finally, the financial aid process has been daunting for our family. We were looking for outside scholarships after we learned of our estimated contribution. It turns out that was a complete waste of time, because it will not reduce our family contribution, the schools will simply reduce the amount of any grant we receive with any outside scholarships. </p>
<p>I am so proud of how my d handled the application process. She actually accused me of not caring whether she was admitted to college or not because I “would not help her.” (This was on December 30, 2012 when she needed to finish the last few apps) The accusation was funny since there truly was nothing I could do. For our family the hands off approach worked for this particular child.</p>
<p>Thank you, emdee. Anyone else have any other thoughts to share?</p>
<p>I would add that be aware of the “I know the ivy’s/MIT/Stanford are reaches for everyone but I’m sure MY child will be the one admitted to X Y Z college” syndrome". It seems even when your child has done “everything right” it doesn’t much matter admission wise. Son with near perfect (2380 SAT Is in 1 sitting), two 800s on SATIIs, leadership, high/highest honors every term, top prep school, lots of volunteering, spent lots of time on admissions essays, college visits ect… Admitted to none of the four ivy/MIT/Stanford schools to which he applied. Took the most rigorous courses too.</p>
<p>He will be attending a top 25 school that is world renowned for the major he wants to study. A great result but I certainly wasn’t expecting that to be his only top 25 acceptance. He also had a full tuition scholarship to an honors program at one of his safeties and nice merit money from a couple other schools. (MAKE SURE TO HAVE THE SAFETIES/MATCHES!!)</p>
<p>I used to read about that happening to kids and think…yes but … did they do x or if they did y it would’ve been different and figure I could avoid the rejections for DS. Not true. It was especially difficult to read the threads and see kids who were accepted with lower stats than DS. It almost feels like a popularity contest- if your child is class president, recrutied athlete, legacy or otherwise hooked then go for it- otherwise forget it. Luckily, DS was not crushed by the Ivy rejections. MIT rejection hurt though, but life goes on and he is now thrilled with his choice!
Would I do it again (send him to boarding school) if I could go back in time? Yes. Simply because he loves being challenged and “doesn’t mind working hard”. Being surrounded by smart hardworking kids is priceless and he is seeking that same type of environment for himself in college. Once again I am worrying if it will be too stressful, too much work, too demanding lol. I know he can handle it though because of the preparation he received at BS!</p>
<p>PA-C, Are you Asian? I think your son would have easily made it into the Ivys with those stats if he is not an ORM. Do you have to apply for FA for college that might have affected the results? I’m surprised that you said you would send your son to BS again. I think he would have done better in college admissions from local high school. Competing with 300 other BS kids applying to same Ivys have negatively affected your son’s results, imo.</p>
<p>Not Asian but Caucasian male. We did apply for F.A. although qualified for very little so I don’t think that affected the decisions. He may have done better in college admissions from public school but he would have been miserable. His friend took AP Physics in our local HS and said they didn’t cover 1/2 the AP physics review book.<br>
Although,the money spent for BS was alot of money so maybe I wouldn’t have sent him if I knew the outcome ahead of time…idk. I do think he was happier being in the challenging environment.<br>
He was not legacy, not an athlete, not a minority. Just a really smart, nice kid who worked his butt off.</p>
<p>Hmm. PA-C, I’m betting that your son will have his pick of grad schools if he plans on attending one. Sounds like a great kid.</p>
<p>White and Asian males are at the bottom of the College Admissions wish list this year. Sorry, maybe next year.</p>
<p>About 25% more women than men apply to colleges, but, last I heard, only Kenyon favors men over women; the rest should be gender neutral.</p>
<p>Males have an advantage at many schools, not just Kenyon.</p>