<p>When we started this college app process last year, I was furious about ED. I’m still not crazy about it, but I sort of understand it now. </p>
<p>A lot of it seems to me to be about colleges really hating to accept kids who don’t actually want to go there. They have to read the app several times, figure out the money, how the kid would fit into the class, etc. But the app is only in their pile as a last resort. It’s a weird business, unlike other kinds of markets with which I’m familiar.</p>
<p>So, e.g. certain schools (like American Univ.) have bi-modal rejection areas. They reject kids who are below, say, 2.8, let in kids from about 2.8 to about 3.5, and then waitlist everybody above 3.5 who hasn’t indicated that they really want to go there. This might seem cruel to the top applicants, but all those I’ve seen talk about it don’t mind because they “didn’t really want to go there.” And that’s just what the college believed about them. So, it’s a badge of honor in a way.</p>
<p>ED is an attempt by the schools to try to suss out who really wants to go there. It’s hard on 17-year olds and their families just entering this market, but, to be fair, it’s not without risk to the schools either, because any benefit to their yields may be offset by reductions in either their overall selectivity or their average grades/scores. </p>
<p>It’s just a weird world. You need to be Kenneth Arrow or some other game theory expert to figure it all out.</p>