<p>My daughter is applying to Bowdoin ED1. An acceptance would be great, and a rejection would mean she would apply elsewhere ED2. She feels that her chance of being admitted to one of her top choices is best if she applies either ED1 or ED2. She has to decide what she wants to do if she is deferred from Bowdoin ED1. Does she apply elsewhere ED 2 to increase her chances, or does she keep her options open at Bowdoin and not apply anyplace else ED2? (Rhetorical question.)</p>
<p>My question to you is: Does Bowdoin only defer students they would seriously consider for ED2, or do they defer students they plan to reject in order to “soften the blow”?</p>
<p>I should add that my daughter transferred from an easy high school to a very tough high school in tenth grade. For the most part, especially considering the increasing level of difficulty of her classes in 11th and 12th grades, her grades show an upward trend from 10th grade to 12th grade with straight As at her easy high school freshman year. Her SAT scores are very high 600s in verbal and perfect/near perfect in math and writing. She has a chance of straight As first semester senior year and had all As except for one B on her mid-term report. (I suppose there is a chance Bowdoin would want to see her January grades before accepting her.)</p>
<p>Her extra-curricular activities are excellent with awards in drama and journalism (the latter at the national level).</p>
<p>Your answers will help her decide what to do if deferred from Bowdoin ED1.</p>
<p>I only know our experience - my S applied ED1 and was admitted; a close friend also applied ED1 and was deferred to RD and then ultimately rejected RD. However, I have absolutely no idea how many (if any) deferred ED applicants may have been admitted RD.</p>
<p>Thanks, college_query. Do you know the friend’s statistics and where he/she ended up? The information would give us a better idea of who gets deferred.
Maybe if other people reply, we can get a good sense. When December 15 rolls around, my daughter wants a decision and a plan of action already in place, in case she is deferred.</p>
<p>Although Bowdoin does not make it clear on their website, one of their closest competitors–Middlebury–does. According to Midd, between 10 and 20 percent of ED applicants who are deferred ultimately will be accepted in the regular decision round. We can expect similar numbers from Bowdoin. In other words, she may want to consider applying ED2 elsewhere if she loves the alternative as much as she loves Bowdoin.</p>
<p>That’s helpful information, arcadia. nosering, I just sent you a PM - Bowdoin is small and I felt I would provide too much identifying information in a reply.</p>
<p>I’m an alumni interviewer for bowdoin and last year I interviewed an ED applicant who was deferred and eventually accepted in the regular decision round…so it does happen.</p>
<p>This is all extremely helpful. I received a private message and tried to send a reply. However, the system said I was not allowed to do so yet, as I do not have enough posts. I keep telling my daughter that she has to decide how much she wants Bowdoin over and above all other schools, including her other top choices. Does she want to go to Bowdoin so badly that she is willing to take a risk and wind up at one of her safety schools rather than one of her other top choices, where an ED2 application might make the difference between admission and rejection? Only she can decide.</p>
<p>While I do think there is <em>some</em> advantage to applying ED, I think the advantage is overstated, especially regarding ED2 programs. Although I could be wrong. Is there data to support the claim that ED2 applicants are admitted at higher rates than regular applicants?</p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone for responding. College_query, I have tried several times to send you a private message, but I don’t think they system is sending it. I don’t know why.</p>
<p>pb_2002, I think the advantage of applying early decision varies from school to school. Some people say that the higher acceptance rates for early decision are a reflection of athletic, minority, and legacy admissions and do not mean that admission early decision is truly easier. I attended a lecture recently where the speaker said that this is the case for the Ivies. </p>
<p>Steinberg’s book, “The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College”, in which the author describes his findings from following a Wesleyan admissions officer around for a year, suggests that it is easier to be admitted ED. The admissions officers do not need to be as concerned during the ED rounds about gender imbalances, accepting too many violinists for the school orchestra, or having a class with lower stats than the year before. With regular decision, the admissions office has to be concerned about rounding out the class. But then, Wesleyan might have a reputation for accepting a larger percentage of its class ED than is the case with other colleges. In addition, the book was published 10+ years ago and might be outdated.</p>
<p>My daughter applied RD last year and is very very happy at Bowdoin now. When we went to the accepted students visit last April, one of the admissions officers told us the acceptance rate in RD last year was only 11%- so I think ED or ED II has to be better than that. </p>
<p>While D loves Bowdoin, I think she would have been happy at her other small liberal arts colleges acceptances as well, so take heart if Bowdoin doesn’t work out. The process has a clear random element given the high demand for spots at these schools. There was no apparent other rhyme or reason as to why she got accepted at some and wait listed at others. The essential features- great academics, personal interest in students, etc are a common thread- although I’ve tasted the Bowdoin food, and it is as good as they claim!</p>