<p>My son really wants to go to Vassar .Is there any advantage to apply ED1 vs. ED 2? Also would people chance him? Any recommendations for safeties. He wants to double major in theater/psych</p>
<p>Large Competitive Suburban H.S in NJ-class of about 400</p>
<p>GPA general about 3.80 , prep about the same</p>
<p>top ten percent (although near the bottom of the top decile)</p>
<p>SAT M 770, CR 720, W 760 SAT2 Bio 800, Math 2 780</p>
<p>AP Bio 5</p>
<p>National Honor Society
National Merit Semi Finalist
New Jersey Regional Band low Brass
County Regional Band
Jazz Ensemble
Section Leader Marching Band low brass
Peer adviser
Numerous parts in well regarded drama dept including leads
wrote play which was performed at HS.</p>
<p>i dont think ED1 VS ED2 makes that much of a difference. His SAT scores are outstanding but has he only taken 1 ap class? I was accepted ED2 with much lesser SAT scores but was 3 in my class and took a rigorous course load. Id say if he definetally wants to go to Vassar apply early but I dont think it matters which 1.</p>
<p>My son takes band which prevented him from taking AP courses. In general the only AP course offered Soph year is US history and a couple junior year. he is taking 3 next year. all his other courses were honors though. I am curious what was your ed1 and what were some of your safeties.</p>
<p>i acutally did not apply and where ED1. I ddint finish my application in time. I ened up picking Vassar very late so I finished my app in time for ED2. I applied to Wesleyan amherst wake forest (not safeties) but my safeties were well sort of Brandeis Connecticut College Union F and M and SUNY New Paltz. I never found out which I got into because i had to wtihdraw my applications. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>If your son is certain that he wants to go to Vassar, I would suggest ED1. Although I am not aware of the admissions statistics, I believe that the "crowd" of applicants for ED1 would be smaller than the group for ED2 (I think it's simply harder for most people to get organized in time), giving your son a small advantage. My daughter applied ED1 and found out she was accepted in the middle of December, just as she was getting ready to complete her other college applications, which saved her a lot of work!. Good luck with the process!</p>
<p>The overall admissions rate for early decision students is approximately 40%, whereas the regular decision rate is approximately 20%. I'm applying to Vassar EDI because it is my first choice and I want this edge; if Vassar is your son's first choice, he should most definitely do the same.</p>
<p>Go with ED1; don't wait until the class has already begun to fill up, especially if your son really likes Vassar and is sure he wants to go there. If he is accepted, it will save him a lot of time filling out other applications! Also, don't worry too much about the low volume of APs he's taken; it doesn't sound like your school offers that many APs for whatever reason--mine barely offered more than a dozen because it was so small, and then not until junior year--and Vassar will understand those limitations.</p>
<p>Oh, and safety-wise, when I applied to Vassar, my safety was Lawrence, which is less a safety for academic reasons (it's a solid school) and more for its high admit rate. But the culture of the two schools is very different--Midwestern v. East Coast, etc--so if your son wants to be on the East Coast, Lawrence probably isn't a good option for him. I didn't apply to any East Coast schools that could be considered safeties, but my friend had Colgate and Colby as her safeties. Don't know too much about them, though, so they may not be safeties for everyone.</p>
<p>thank you for your advice about applying ED1. He and his dad are taking a second look this summer, and if my s enthusisam still holds, he will apply ED1. our HS. is a large suburban one that offers about 30 APs, but discourages students from taking them before jr. year. The main problem with my son was his involvement in band which used up an elective and prevented him from taking more AP in his jr. year. In general, even the top students at our HS dont end up with more then 6 or so APs, especially if they are involved in any music program.</p>
<p>If you apply ED1 do you usually hear early enough to prevent you from having to put together the other applications? That would be great!How do you think my son sizes up, his GPA may end up right below the top decile.
Thanks for your response, Vassar is my son's first love!</p>
<p>I often use the term "moving target" when it comes to college admissions. I say that because things are affected by what is currently happening whereas you have to make decisions on the past. The advantage with ED1 is that colleges are trying to set the base for the new class and are filling an empty campus. There are no essays, activities, scores to compare from prior applicants that year and admissions counselors love to admit students. So if there happens to be a glut of a certain type of a student during ED1, a student who fits that profile may get a yawn during ED2 or RD. On the other hand if the ED1 pool has few hits on certain types and ths colleges wants some, someone in the ED2 pool that may have been put on hold may get accepted. It all depends on who is applying that year and the needs of the college at the time and that is not info usually shared with applicants.</p>
<p>Mindy--if he applies ED1, he'll hear back by mid-December, which will save him some time on other college applications; however, he'll probably have put a few together by then just in case, because the regular deadline for other schools is Jan. 1. He actually doesn't have to submit those other applications until the week before Jan. 1 (do not submit on Jan. 1! Too many people do and the Common App website might crash), so if he is accepted to Vassar ED1, then all he'd have to do is disregard those other apps entirely and enjoy the holidays :) </p>
<p>As for chances, his SATs are great, and being in or near the top decile for a class of that size is pretty good. He doesn't have that many extracurriculars, but it's clear that he's passionate about the few he does, especially band, so that shouldn't be a problem. If his essays and recs are good, I'd say he has a very good shot.</p>
<p>Thank you to all that chanced my son above. We have had some health issues in our immediate family and his 1st quarter grades are not great.
specfically they are:
Calc AP B
Eng lit AP B
Psych Ap A
physics h B
LatinV A</p>
<p>Large very competetive public HS in NJ</p>
<p>And a review of the rest
Weighted GPA 4.16 40/400 1st decile
unweighted 3.85
SAT 1 M 770,V 720, W 760 11/12
SAT 2 Bio 800 Math 2 C 770
Ap bio 5</p>
<p>Recs great
essays great</p>
<p>extra curricular
National merit semi finalist
National honor Society
chosen to play trombone in County and regional honor Band
Played in honor band abroad
Tons of theater
Wrote one act play performed at our hs theater
Student director for elementary students
Bio tutor for freshman
Landmark Volunteer
Marching Band 4 years
Jazz band for 3 years</p>
<p>What do you think will lackluster 1st quarter senior grades hurt ED1 chances.
Thanks!
Peer counselor</p>