<p>I could be misunterpreting what I've observed, but after my visit to Cornell the other day, I have serious misgivings about the things I've heard about Early Decision. The Cornell ED myth: "Applying ED to Cornell significantly increases you chances of acceptance." "If you want to get into an Ivy League school, your easiest bet is to apply ED to Cornell."</p>
<p>I've heard this misguided myth several times around here, and I feel I need to address it. Bear in mind, my only source of information is what I was told by the head of admissions at Cornell CoE in the information session. Applying ED does not improve your chances of acceptance. To believe so is erroneous and, quite frankly, insulting. Yes, ED applicants have a slightly higher acceptance rate, but this is for good reason. ED applicants typically have a passion for Cornell that makes them more appealing than RD applicants. Academically, the ED applicant pool is apparently slightly more competitive than the RD pool, but is filled with more passionate applicants. There are the people who KNOW they want Cornell, and have little difficulty conveying this passion in their supplemental essays.</p>
<p>So please, don't think you can get into Cornell more easily with below-average stats by applying ED. It's not a way to beat the system; it's a way to show you are truly passionate about Cornell.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: this is my impression of ED after speaking with the head of admissions for CoE. There is the possibility that some of what I've said isn't entirely accurate.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t know because im not on the board of admissions, but I would say at my school in my year, 3 out of 4 early applicants were accepted. though 2 were legacies and 1 was pretty intelligent</p>
<p>I don’t know how the head of admissions could say that the applicant pool is more competitive during ED.</p>
<p>Many students who are also applying to places like MIT and Stanford choose to apply RD, as opposed to those who wish to hedge their bets by using ED.
I think this is a case where actions speak far louder than words. He can proclaim that ED doesn’t help all day long, but large mountains of anecdotal evidence speak against it.</p>
<p>Just playing Devil’s Advocate here (I actually like the ED process, win-win for schools and kids as long as they’re using the same means testing for both pools to determine aid and they don’t give out merit money), but as a whole ED kids are more affluent and take less financial aid than their RD counterparts and it has been said that many schools are more apt to take an ED applicant, not only because of their “passion” as demonstrated by applying ED, but by an assumption that they won’t have to shell out as much aid to that kid. The class disparity between RD and ED pools is one of the reasons a few schools have eliminated ED.</p>
<p>Should a student that needs FA not apply during the ED round? I’m one of those truly passionate applicants that wants to get into Cornell over any other school. With that said, should I wait until the RD round because I need FA?</p>
<p>@CornellHopeful. I’m assuming your parent’s income bracket qualifies you for FA. However, in reality it seems like Finaid largely depends on your parent’s assets and assets under your name once you’re in the bracket. </p>
<p>I’m Canadian (considered international), and I receive what I consider to be a very generous amount (I pay/borrow less than I would have if I did an out-of-town university in Canada) and I had applied ED to CoE.</p>
<p>So I’m saying if you’re in FA income bracket, but with assets (mortgage free house, car, etc) that you’re unwilling or unable to um… “liquidate?” (lol) you might find yourself in an unpleasant situation if you apply ED especially if you’re applying this fall. There’s been a whole lot of “restructuring” going on here at Cornell and while all of the articles emphasize “FINAID WILL REMAIN THE UNIVERSITY’S PRIORTY AND WILL NOT BE COMPRIMISED”, some students here beg to differ.
On another note, I received a hint on studentcenter that my FA package has not changed since last year (still very generous IMO), although a family situation was hoped to have increased this amount. </p>
<p>on passion to applying to Cornell… for me I had never heard about Cornell until my senior fall when I started applying and after I had done my SATI. The only thing I really knew about Cornell when I applied here was that it was part of the Ivy League (I’d only heard of MIT HY, not P, Stanford and Columbia. All of this ED/RD thing I learned about after I’d applied). I think I showed more passion in applying to a school in general than applying to Cornell specifically. My “why Cornell” submission could’ve been a _______ copy paste but was passionate at least. I guess I’m pitching that passion in showing Cornell who you are is the important thing.
However, I’ve noticed that among my peers(mostly CoE), ED’s TEND to have lower test scores but wider range of EC’s while RD’s TEND to have better scores/academics with decent EC’s in comparison. You can make whatever you want out of that, just something I’ve noticed. </p>
<p>@malan89. I guess I’m an exception then… on the FA part of admissions. Again, not trying to be contradictory, just putting it out there that there are students with similar situations as me</p>
<p>i think kids (including myself) do early decision/action, allured by the higher acceptance rate (with exceptions of course)
i realize now that the acceptance rate is a bit misleading, since the size of the applicant pool is so vastly different.</p>
<p>for instance,
a 2/4 50% ED acceptance rate is really not such a better deal than
a 30/100 30% regular acceptance rate.
(these figures are purely hypothetical)</p>
<p>also, in regular decision, there are a lot of underqualified kids applying just for the heck of it, whereas these kids are found in much smaller portions in early decision, because it is binding& is really a huge commitment, so in reality, the 30 ED acceptance rate is somewhat misleading, as is the ed/ea acceptance rate at any other college.</p>
<p>so my advice would be, unless you are extremely over- qualified or have a great
sports/ music ec going for you, or have great legacy/history at the place,
just go regular.</p>
<p>in ed, the admissions are choosing from a narrower, more dedicated, and arguably, a more qualified group, which is not going to improve your chances at all.
i.e. a student with an uncertain chance at cornell or @ any other place would really be better off applying regular.</p>
<p>and i learned all this the hard way, so i hope you guys listen just a bit…</p>
<p>Logic most often used in applying ED: “Hey! I’m showing interest in the college. Plus I’m competing with less students for a larger number of available seats. In RD, there’ll be less space available considering some people have already been accepted ED. So, ED is the smart option, clearly!”</p>
<p>Failure of logic: Any college is also looking to admit only a certain number of kids ED. No college will ever fill up more than 50% of their class early. Also, you’re competing with a bunch of other kids who are demonstrating the exact same interest in the college as you are. Factor in the fact that only committed individuals with good fit and strong stats would apply ED and you have screwed yourself into a more competitive applicant pool. Congrats, whatever chance you had of getting in RD is diminished if you aren’t an ideal applicant.</p>
<p>Only apply ED if the school is truly your first choice and you have strong enough stats. At the time of my applying my grades were as high as they would ever be and I had finished my SATs in advance, my essays, recs, etc. In other words, I was ready and Cornell was the school I wanted to attend. Unless this is your situation, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, apply ED anywhere. Least of all Cornell. Those higher acceptance rates are very misleading.</p>
<p>Analogy? Engineering has a pretty high acceptance rate of 34%. You know how easy it is to get into engineering.</p>
<p>My D’s (and my)take on Ed is that you really have to start preparing early. There is another girl in her class who is going to apply ED, hasn’t been to the informational session, has only taken the SAT once, etc. As my D says…“if you want to apply ED it’s almost too late to start now”. Starting the SAT her Soph. year, taking a campus visit early in her junior year, and going to the college within Cornell’s info session in the spring has given her ample time to craft her essays, have her test scores improve etc.</p>
<p>"One can start standardized testing late in one’s junior year and still have little problem applying and being accepted ED. "</p>
<p>…you are missing the point. Yes you COULD start late in Junior year but MANY if not MOST students improve their test scores each time they take the SAT (my D has taken it three times & gone up 80pts (CR + M) from the first to third time). Now if you get 1500 the first time you don’t have to worry, but many students don’t do that. By starting early you have a much better idea what you need to do to improve your chances of acceptance if you fall in love with a school or a particular program.</p>
<p>^ most students improve their scores as they get older irregarless if they do any prep work or not … so the $1M question that can not be answered is … did your daughter’s scores improve from her soph to junior year because of learning and prep gained from having taking the SATs as a soph or was it the natural improvements from an extra year (6 months) of age, schooling, and maturity.</p>
<p>Personally I’m with Islander … no need to rush anything (unless my child is in a rush on their own) … follow the typical test schedule and visit schedule … and the ED path can still play out fine. My oldest ended up going to an ED school after following a totally typical schedule … and her spring Junior visit to her ED school left her in great position for her ED application on the fall of her senior year.</p>
<p>I can only go by what my D relays. She thought that if she had waited until second semester of junior year to: 1) do general visit to colleges 2) take the SAT for the first time 3) Choose Cornell as the college you definitely want to go to 4) go to informational sesssions of the two colleges within Cornell that interest you 5) chose which specific college you want to apply Ed to 6) Formulate ideas for the essay that best portrays “fit” 7) write the essay 8) Get feedback from your AP English teacher on your essay. She wouldn’t do as nearly as good a job with her application. Now this is just her. Cornell is going to be a reach for her as it is, but by starting early I think she’s really improved her chances.</p>
<p>“Bear in mind, my only source of information is what I was told by the head of admissions at Cornell CoE in the information session. Applying ED does not improve your chances of acceptance.”</p>
<p>Cornell’s individual colleges handle admissions somewhat differently, in many respects. At the CAS info session I attended a few days ago, we were told that they generally do not defer ED applicants, because if you cannot [inferred:even…] get in ED it is highly unlikely that you could get in [inferred: to the more competitive] RD. The words and intent clearly indicated a situation that is contrary to your assertions. My experiences with info sessions at other institutions are also in contrast with your assertions. In one case, at a selective LAC, the admissions officer flat out told us it was easier to get in ED. There is no reason Cornell CAS should be different, and the numbers suggest that Cornell overall is not different. But whether Engineering, or Hum Ec, treats it the same way, maybe not.</p>
<p>I’ve been told that for Human Ecology getting deferred at ED is not as final as some of the other colleges. They are so “fit and diversity” based that depending on makeup of the RD pool you could still have a chance.</p>
<p>have to agree here with monydad. at the info session for a top 20 univ, the admissions said pretty much the same thing. no deferrals because if you can’t make it in ED, there’s no way you’re getting in RD.</p>