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As I noted, ED gives the colleges an advantage because it enables them to lock in a lot of full pay or almost full-pay students early. So of course it is also in their interest to encourage students to apply ED.</p>
<p>I do think that ED increases the chance of admission… for the students that the school wants to lock in. The high financial need student with divorced or never-married parents is not that student – unless it is also a highly accomplished financially needy student. </p>
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<p>My daughter was very disappointed in the quality of Barnard’s dance program. It may very well be the “best” available at a LAC, but overall the offerings are pretty limited for an advanced level dancer. The main advantage that Barnard has is its proximity to Steps.</p>
<p>But my point is, that’s part of the “dream school” myth. In the “dream”, the student pictures herself dancing with Allegra Kent – in the reality, it turns out that Allegra Kent is an adjunct who comes in once a week, on Fridays, to teach classes so packed full of students that there’s not really enough room to move. Is that better than a school that doesn’t have Allegra Kent on faculty? Probably. But it isn’t going to provide the level of training that a serious ballet student wants - and its a let down for a the student who has experience with a pre-professional studio or one who, like my daughter, was used to better facilities and a more extensive repertoire at her arts high high school than the college offered. </p>
<p>The “dream” is the intersection between what the high school senior thinks she wants and what she thinks her chosen college offers. When she gets to the school, reality sets in, and it seldom lives up to the “dream”. </p>
<p>The kid who applies to a number of schools has more time to explore and compare. Often, students find out about specific options and programs later in the process, through information conveyed only after they are admitted – for example, a mailing received about a special program that is sent only to admitted students who are eligible for that program. So that student may revise her opinions about what school offer the “best” as more information comes in. Neither of my kids even knew all the right questions to ask in October of their senior years – both learned a lot from their peers as time went on, and their view were shaped by that. </p>
<p>I’m sure that there is a level of cognitive dissonance that sets in for ED students who are admitted – that is, they probably put up filters to avoid considering possible negative information that is learned in February, or to avoid acknowledging disappointment if they learn they are mistaken about some assumption. But that still doesn’t change the fact that when my daughter was admitted to 9 different colleges, she had a broader array of information and choices than her Barnard friends who came in as ED admits. Financially, many of those options were not real choices – but the information that came through those channels also refined the way she looked at Barnard.</p>
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That’s the point. Things change. They almost always do.</p>
<p>They might not change between October and April, and in that case, the ED vs. RD idea of a “dream” school might be irrelevant. But they CAN change between October and April, and the ED applicant has potentially locked herself in. That your daughter had a clear preference but didn’t think of Barnard as her “dream school” is a good indication that she went through a more critical thought process – ALSO recognizing that the idea of the “dream” is a myth, and instead thinking in terms of simply opting for what seemed like a pretty good choice at the time. Since your d. had an older sister at Barnard, she probably had a far more realistic view of the school than most applicants in any case – and the sibling factor is probably a greater hook with ED than later in the game. </p>
<p>I’m concerned about the lure of the “dream” really hurting students like the OP, who may find themselves either without any choice in the end because of financial constraints, or who may unwittingly be tying themselves to an option that will cause more financial hardship in the long run, because they don’t really appreciate the lost opportunities inherent in the choice.</p>