I do think the unknown for any school - and others pointed out - is ED vs. RD rate.
I don’t see BC listing an ED rate but it could be the RD rate is sub 10%??
I imagine, if the student plans to ED somewhere, that will greatly enhance their odds - short of Brown or anyone else who says ED doesn’t enhance your odds.
It is crazy with colleges going out of business each year how the elite are becoming - well more elite - and according to them, more inclusive - and I don’t see that changing.
Your daughter is a very strong candidate and is in the running for all of these schools. That having been said:
List is too long. Prioritize the reaches/matches into 6± that best suit your daughter. As mentioned upthread, the only thing that many of these colleges have in common is prestige. For these schools where there will be thousands of other students matching your daughter’s academic accomplishments, the quality of essays and LoR’s will be critical.
I would only ED a clear first choice.
She might consider REA HYP.
In a quick search I could only find their 2021-22 Common Data Set. But in that class, they admitted 1260 of 3221 ED applicants (39.1%), 7587 of 39846 applicants total (19.0%), so that implies something like 6327 of 36625 regular (17.3%).
The usual caveats apply, though. These are not the same pools of applicants.
On the plus side, recruited athletes are irrelevant to the OP’s daughter. So, frankly, are unhooked applicants without strong academic qualifications by BC’s standard. Meaning to the extent BC’s ED acceptance rate is higher because many of the former are admitted ED, or its RD acceptance rate lower because more of the latter toss an RD application towards BC as a super-reach/unlikely, that is not applicable to the OP’s situation.
On the minus side, if BC is yield-protecting–sure, it might admit someone with great qualifications who has submitted a binding application, versus not if it was just an RD application and they were convinced their yield rate on such applicants would be really low. But of course that is precisely why the OP’s daughter may not want to submit a binding application to BC, so . . . .
I’ll just toss in again that while I think SUNY Binghamton is a fine safety/likely choice, to me there is a whole world of at least broadly similar schools between BC and SUNY Binghamton in terms of selectivity. Including RPI and RIT, but those, to me, are on a notably different branch of the college family tree.
And I do think BC being specifically in Boston makes it a harder admit than otherwise very comparable colleges still in the Northeast, but not specifically in Boston. Potentially including for yield protection reasons, as I suspect BC also understands it gets a lot of highly qualified applicants because it is an acceptable Boston option, but most of those applicants will end up getting into somewhere they actually prefer.
So while I don’t think the OP’s daughter is necessarily doing something totally wrong with that list, it does feel to me like maybe looking at more of the Northeast universities in the same broad family as BC and Binghamton, but not quite as hard of an admit as BC, would be a good idea.
In addition to just noting I think this is all good advice, I will also note I think on a deep level it is related advice.
Like, I encounter a lot of people at least thinking strongly about EDing a non-favorite “reach” because they are convinced they need to “use” their ED option somewhere. I personally think ED is fine if your ED school is actually your favorite, but otherwise I really think devoting serious effort to finding great-fitting “likelies”/“matches”–which can often be comparable in most ways to harder matches/closer reaches but are not as flooded with applications due to location or such–is often just as good if not better of a strategy.
And of course that strategy of very carefully chosen likely/matches is still doable if your actual favorite reach does not offer ED.
Since academics and reaches/likely are already competently handled…
What does your daughter want?
What kind of environment, e.g., urban, suburban, rural, does she prefer?
What are some of the things that are attractive to her in a college, what are some turn-offs?
Has she visited a few colleges, what were likes/dislikes?
Clearly she’s an exceptional student with great potential - she deserves to be in a college for four years that will make her happy, before anyone makes any suggestions.
In my experience, most EA applicants to UMich cannot count on receiving a decision in January. The majority (including many very high stat/high quality applicants) have their decisions deferred and are put into the RD pool.
Agree many will have to wait until RD.
I’m not sure it’s the majority that are deferred out of EA, but could be…I do think more receive a decision in EA now that U Mich takes the extra 6 weeks or so to review apps (compared to when they had an EA release date of mid Dec).
I don’t believe UMich releases those stats. My evidence is purely anecdotal. But, if you look back at UMich EA pages from recent admissions cycles, I think it would tend to show the majority is deferred (especially as it pertains to OOS applicants).
I don’t see UM on the OPs list ….
Did I miss ?
Hope OP comes back with more info.
Is there an ED / favorite ? And defining STEM as it relates to her daughter.
Someone suggested it, and stated that OP would have a decision from them by mid Dec, before RD apps are due. I merely replied Michigan doesn’t release any EA decisions until end of January.
This is a quibble, but: imo, Bing is a safety for this student, even if its overall acceptance rate is lower than what’s recommended. All the available anecdotal evidence suggests that they don’t yield-protect ultra-high-stats applicants.
Interestingly, it seems that “strategy” has become a generally acceptable approach to college admission, at least to the extent that this can be judged by this comment from the counseling office at a top preparatory school:
DUNY Binghamton would not yield protect because a number of high stat kids DO go there – often for financial reasons.
Your daughter will be a very strong applicant during the college admissions cycle, but I think that much of your list is miscategorized because although your daughter is extremely strong, most of the schools that she’s considering have extremely low admit rates (and some extremely low for students who do not apply Early Decision).
As people tend to mean different things with words like Match, I am using my own terms with what the admissions chances are with those categories. These are simply my guesses as to what your daughter’s chances might be at these schools.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Likely (60-79%)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
As others have said, looking at the list, I don’t have a clear idea of what it is your daughter is interested in having for her college experience. For instance, if she’s a big fan of the Catholic colleges on the list, then I might suggest looking at College of the Holy Cross or U. of Dayton as likelier options. If she preferred schools like RIT, RPI, and MIT, then schools like Clarkson, WPI or CMU would be possible additions. If a place like Hamilton or Dartmouth appeals, then others like Bucknell or St. Lawrence might be possibilities of likelier schools. Although it’s possible for a student to do well at a number of different schools, I have a hard time thinking of someone who would be happy at all of the schools on the current list.
Thanks for everyone’s replies. Very thoughtful!!
I kind of have a follow up questions based upon some of these comments:
Beyond some basics (e.g. location, size, major offerings), do people agree that elite colleges offer an opportunity for fit for any students that they accept? And I know that circumstances may throw a wrench (bad roommate, injury) into the mix, but don’t most students end up loving the college that they attend? And if this is the case, then shouldn’t every well adjusted high achieving student apply to a number of elite schools to boost the odds of admission to at least one of them (even if MIT is so different from Brown)? Also, if the admissions committee is trying to assess “fit”, why should the applicant worry too much about the same thing?
For any students? I mean, it’s hard to know every student and all kids are different. Colleges don’t know a student simply from their application.
And I don’t think using the word elite is proper.
It’s any college, not just a select set that you’d have to ask this question.
You have made a presumption based on your own ranking system, etc. that BC, for example is elite whereas not everyone thinks so, as an example, but many do (obviously you do).
But your question is no different if asked about a Hamilton vs. a Binghamton - other than the school size, # of support staff, etc…
So I’m not sure the question is right but colleges all offer an opportunity for fit. Whether a student can “fit” into what is offered though is outside of anyone’s knowledge and if they can’t, whether the college can adapt to them will depends on the people from the school (both student, faculty, and administration) that they deal with.
I can’t find the statistic but I believe that most state approval for the college they attended. Of course, part of that might be psychological - you don’t want to say you wasted four years. Or others might love their school (I did mine) but perhaps the coursework was near useless (mine was at an elite NE journalism school) - but still love the school.
I’m not a statistician but I’m not sure that having more apps = better odds? And I think your argument defeats the purpose anyway. In the end, a student has to be where they are comfortable and they can grow. It’s four years of their lives - so MIT will be very quant heavy whereas Brown, not necessarily with its open curriculum. Can one handle both - yes? But what if one doesn’t enjoy the student body, the coursework, etc. Why should they be subjected to four years or unhappiness. I would think a Brown student might do better at a Vassar, Hamilton, Grinnell, Wake Forest, Rochester, Kalamazoo - schools that share a trait, at least curriculum wise.
You’re also making the argument (even if you don’t realize it) that elite schools assure success and non-elite schools don’t - and that’s also not true. Hence, we all work for someone who went to W Georgia, a school I never heard of until I met this individual and my highest US exec went to Fairleigh Dickinson and both a Harvard Law and Vanderbilt MBA work for him.
Your student should find the right fit.
They shouldn’t just find a high level school - and have the school adapt to them. That’s far less likely.
They have to remember this experience their entire life. I was so bummed when my son turned down Purdue engineering for Alabama. Yet, he had his reasons - and he likely has the same job and at the same money.
My younger daughter chose a safety over an elite LAC (well I wasn’t going to pay anyway) - but she chose her top choice - and it’s the right fit for her. It wouldn’t be for me if I was in school.
But no one was forced into a school they didn’t research or love. In fact, my daughter eliminated schools that she got into after we visited, realizing that they weren’t right for her. We weren’t able to visit before applying.
So I think you should start again and work with your daughter to find the right schools for her, and not just the names that will impress your friends or look good on a facebook post.
Hope that helps.
I do not agree that every student can find a the best fit at every elite college. I feel it is up to the student to consider fit when making an application list. IMO one cannot expect an admissions officer who spends probably 10-15 minutes with an application to be the best assessor of fit.
Some examples:
-Location - Some students prefer urban, other rural etc. Ex. a student who loves Dartmouth may not love Penn or Columbia equally.
-Core curriculum - These can work well for some students and not as well for others. My S went to a Catholic college with a large core and it gave him a well rounded liberal arts education – my D went to college already having specific areas of interest that she wanted to pursue in depth (but not major in) and a large core would have made it difficult for her to achieve that.
-School emphasis – Schools that emphasize STEM/engineering (ex. MIT, RIT) are likely to have a somewhat different vibe and student make-up.
Certainly many students are adaptable and will “bloom where planted” but I would encourage discussions about fit and what the student really wants in a college before finalizing any application list.
So, you’re pretty much saying that chasing prestige is the priority? Trouble is, the applicant has to convince each admissions committee that she loves that college. Unless she’s a superb persuasive writer who can argue the opposite of what she believes, she’ll have a hard time genuinely writing about why she loves MIT/RIT/RPI and also why she loves Brown/Hamilton/Dartmouth. Admissions committees can smell a disingenuous essay a mile away.
Remember, her grades and SAT only serve to keep her folder out of the first round of the “no” pile. They don’t get her in. Congrats. She’s not an immediate rejection. After that it depends on the essays, awards, and presenting her package genuinely. And after that it’s whether her genuine package fulfills institutional priorities.
I will probably be the only one to say this, but I don’t think this is an unreasonable take.
“Fit” is a real thing, but imo it is overhyped to some significant degree by private counselors who need to sell you something, and by toxic parental competitiveness.
The group of schools that admit <20% of applicants and do not offer tuition discounts are excellent at what they do. I don’t think there is anything wrong with applying to both Brown and Columbia, or whatever other pairings people on here think are outrageous and misguided—as long as you know what the differences are, and more importantly understand that applying to more ultra-reach schools doesn’t increase the chances of getting into any one of them.
Beyond that, you have the blessing of at least one stranger on the internet to chase prestige and “shotgun” as many “Top 25” applications as your kid wants to write 
You can pursue prestige and fit, they are not mutually exclusive.