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What if : i)most people want to go to school within 4 hours of their home; and ii) most people with enough $$ for expensive private colleges live in the Northeast. then RP would show, on average, preferences for Northeast schools over schools elsewhere, for reasons that have everything to do with these applicants and nothing to do with the schools.
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<p>And, what if said revealed preferences study ONLY surveyed college applicants from selected private prep and affluent suburban high school, mostly from the northeast, that traditionally send all of their students to elite northeast colleges? That might skew the results, too.</p>
<p>Oh, wait....that's what they did!</p>
<p>In part, that's why I believe that college rankings mostly just represent the "collective wisdom" of Scarsdale, Short Hills, Brookline, and the Main Line. Maybe a little smattering of Alexandria. That collective wisdom is as parochial, in its own way, as the kids from Alamaba who would consider nothing beyond Auburn or Tuscaloosa for college.</p>
<p>Overall. That factors in the revealed preferences of each school's most enthusiastic applicants -- the early decision folk. There is nothing that "reveals" more "preference" than a binding commitment to attend without applying anywhere else!</p>
<p>Swarthmore's admissions dean did a "fireside chat" with students last week about early decision. Some interesting factoids. The percentage of students qualifying for aid and the average aid package in the ED round and the RD round is roughly the same. Some years, the average aid for ED'ers is a little higher; some years a little higher for RD.</p>
<p>They release one or two students per year from ED commitments for financial reason. Most of those are middle or upper-class students who go on to accept a big merit aid discount at another school.</p>
<p>They send more "better watch it, your grades slipped from senioritis after you got accepted" summer love letters to RD students than ED students.</p>
<p>Yes. I'm sure that Williams and Amherst do the same. A college is not going to make you enroll if you can't afford it. They try to work it out with the financial aid office, but if the dollars don't work, they don't work.</p>
<p>Here's the catch: You get your acceptance and aid offer on December 15th. The deadlines to apply to other schools is Jan 1st. So you can't dawdle.</p>
<p>lol. so does that mean you can apply ED and then decide afterwards if the financial aid is enough? Or do they calculate it and see if the aid is sufficient for you and base it on that (for letting u out of ED).</p>
<p>You get an ED acceptance and, either in the same envelope or a day or two later, you get the school's need-based aid offer. </p>
<p>If the offer is not what you were expecting, you call the financial aid office and start going back and forth to see if there is a number that everybody can live with. If there is not, then they will cancel your admission and you are free to apply elsewhere. It's not an opportunity to comparison shop that aid offer. At the point they release you, you no longer have an acceptance.</p>
<p>I would not use this mechanism to play games. You shouldn't apply ED unless you have reason to believe you can live with the aid offer you are likely to get. Applying ED should be done in good faith.</p>
<p>Crappy is a relative term. UMass is probably better than 98% of the colleges in the country. It's like dating Maggie Gyllenhaal. Yeah, Jessica Alba is hotter, but you're still doing ok for yourself.</p>