<p>Agreed. I was not singling out Muhlenberg, an excellent choice, just showing why schools like ED so much and empathizing with the plight of admission officers. I believe both Lafayeete and Duke, in different selectivity tiers, have very similar yield numbers.</p>
<p>ED scared my D. She refused to make such an important decision so early in the process. For her it was a smart choice since she changed her mind so many times.</p>
<p>I ponder this quite a bit - though we have loads of time. Could see S2 applying ED to either Elon or Muhlenberg. Both schools fit what we are looking for very well and both have significantly higher acceptance rates for ED. It would be great to have the process over and done by December of senior year (assuming he is accepted). </p>
<p>On the other hand, it would also be interesting to have him apply to a range of schools and see what happens. Where does he get in? Where does he get merit aid? And then to visit those schools again for accepted students day and make comparisons - would be interesting - but also riskier. If he applied EA to Elon and/or RD to Muhlenberg and did not get in it would be devestating. I’m glad we still have loads of time - I’m thinking a lot depends on how he does junior year - both in terms of grades and test scores. The stronger he finishes junior year, the less pressure to apply ED, I’m thinking.</p>
<p>Have you any idea how strong Elon is in the sciences? My son is leaning toward’s a science major (Bio or Chem or some sort of premedical prep). He is currently a good student but I believe his UW GPA will take a sharp dive this coming Junior year (yes, I know bad time for this but he would not listen to me) due to his insistance on taking the hardest/most impossible courseload (5 APs, 2 Honors). We are looking to expand his college list (the wide net approach).</p>
<p>I think going ED requires you to answer Yes to all of the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Am I convinced my child will not and should not change his or her mind?</p></li>
<li><p>Am I willing to take whatever aid is offered (leave aside that finances are often an acceptable excuse for reneging, it is still very painful)?</p></li>
<li><p>If applying ED to improve the chance of admission, am I convinced my child will be happy competing in the classroom with the RD kids?</p></li>
<li><p>Have we visited the school often enough, and dug up enough information, that we are sure there are no ugly surprises out there about the academic or social aspects of the school?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it worth a lot to us to have the process behind us early?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there no forseeable events which would change the situation dramatically–the friend or boyfriend/girlfriend who is influencing the decision changing their mind; deciding to play or drop a sport in college; a first marking period which is not going well but which could be remedied by RD; a parent losing a job; etc?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>^^^^ An excellent checklist Yabeyabe2! For reasons 1, 3, and 4 we will encourage our son to NOT ED anywhere. My D1 ED’ed but was rejected at her first choice school. She changed her mind after that and went in a totally different direction (to a huge instate public) even though she had wonderful other choices and she never looked back. She is a different person today than when she thought she wanted school A. Many kids change their minds and desires radically in their senior year of high school. I can see my son doing the same so he really should keep his options open.</p>
<p>Good list Yabeyabe - and having gone through the ED process with S1 - I know how difficult it can be. S1 applied ED to a top 20 school and was deferred - which really took us by surprise as he was very high stat. Long story short - he ended up at a school where he is very happy. He later said that in retrospect - the school he ended up at, although slightly less prestigious, was actually a better fit for him as it has a great business school (prestigious u. did not offer undergraduate business) and being that it is a little smaller, he is getting some opportunities that he feels he might not have gotten at the larger school. So, you just never know.</p>
<p>With S2, I’m going to see how he does on the ACT in the fall and how his grades are next year and then reevaluate. And of course, it depends on his input as well. If he has strong feelings one way or another - I’ll follow his lead - but so far he has little to say.</p>
<p>seiclan - I don’t know very much about Elon for science as S2 is looking at business or the sports mgmt program, but I did find this link which might be helpful to you.</p>
<p>[Elon</a> University, Dept. of Biology](<a href=“Biology | Elon University”>Biology | Elon University)</p>
<p>Rockville, what does S1 say about having an undergrad business school vs. having just an undergrad business major? Is he helping you and S2 think about the search?
My recollection is that I did not ask my older sister anything about the process–and she volunteered nothing, even though we looked at the same schools.</p>
<p>Great List yabeyabe2! As a subcategory to #2, I would add if applying to a school that guarantees to meet need: Can I afford my EFC as caclulated on FAFSA? If the answer to that is yes, then am I willing to accept FA in the form of loans? Again you can get out of ED if you can’t afford it but it could be a difficult time both in dealing with the school and the very disappointed kid! (I mention this because due to “unusual circumstances” our EFC was well above anything that we imagined it would be and it was shocking.) Although all the paperwork went in on time we never went to the calculator to see what the EFC came out to be. Some schools were sympathetic and made adjustments for our situation, others didn’t budge at all. I don’t know how this would have played out in an ED situation. </p>
<p>One advantage to applying ED for us was that S was looking at schools from east to west coast and in between. There was no way we could visit all of the schools that made the application cut. When he had his acceptances in had we just visited the schools that he still had an interest in and narrowed it down from there. The school he chose was one he had not visited at all before applying. As for taking it down to April to get acceptances/rejections and nearly May 1 to make the final decison, that was really tough! If there was a school that I thought was a sure #1 and I knew I could afford it (answered yes to all of Yabeyabe’s questons) I would go the low stress route everytime!</p>
<p>Very interesting question - S1 has not been all that helpful - the only school they overlap on is Elon - which was S1’s safety school and is at the top of S2’s list. S1 is obsessed with big-time college sports - so considering a school that is not D1 makes no sense to him. He also was not at all concerned about the Jewish population at his college, which works since he attends Wake Forest! So, they have very different levels of academic achievement and different priorities for sure.</p>
<p>You had made a good point earlier in the week about determining how strong the business program is - and that a lot of liberal arts schools have just added a business major. One of the things that worked out so well for S1 with Wake is that they have a very strong business school - not just a business major. With S2 - that’s one of the reasons I like Elon - ubdergraduate business school - same thing with Susquehanna and James Madison. Gettysburg and Muhlenberg just offer a major. I wish I had a stronger handle on whether or not S2 would really choose to be a business major - still an unknown - although he has no other ideas on the table.</p>
<p>181818 - I tend to agree with you. With S1 - we had to wait until the end of March for his decisions (other than being accepted EA at Elon) and then do the accepted student day visits in April and then he waited until the very end of April to make his final decision. Now that I think back on it, it really was incredibly stressful - not really a fun time. Ok, maybe ED is the way to go, provided the money issue works.</p>
<p>seiclan - there is a college book called “Ruggs Recommendations” - have you ever seen this? Unlike Princeton Review or Fiske that give summaries of schools, Ruggs just focuses on the majors. It tells you which schools at 3 different levels of selectivity offer which majors and it also tells you which majors are strongest at each college. For Elon, Ruggs lists biology as one of their strongest majors.</p>
<p>I really like yabeyabe’s list…it is actually my daughter’s preference to apply ED; she has been very involved in the process and, unlike my older daughter, doesn’t really have trouble making a decision and sticking to it…</p>
<p>plus she doesn’t see her senior grades really making much of an improvement (given that her rigor will increase)…1st quarter will be just fine for her…</p>
<p>We are very happy, though, that she really likes her quasi-safeties in case her ED’s don’t work out the way she is planning…all good!!</p>
<p>rodney, I found with my D that as the rigor of her courses increased, so did her grades. I know that’s counter-intuitive, but that’s what happened. She took 4 APs her senior year and just finished the year with her highest GPA ever (I mean unweighted, obviously weighted is even MUCH higher).</p>
<p>QM: thanks…yea, we don’t see that happening at her school…according to her guidance counselor and what they have seen over the past few years…and they don’t weight grades so that won’t really have an impact…</p>
<p>One important thing to keep in mind is this: If your child gets accepted ED, will he slack off the rest of senior year and possibly jeopardize his acceptance? I don’t know your child, but I hear that some seniors tend to slack off after college acceptances. Also, the seniors tend to be out there shouting-hey I got into Wash U., I got into Michigan (early)…And then the other seniors who haven’t heard yet start to get nervous about their decisions. My point is, if your child gets in ED to a particular school, will he feel good about notifying his friends/classmates so early in the game? Not that this should impact your decision about schools, but there is some social pressure about these schools senior year. Also, talk to your school before applying ED to see if FA/scholarships are impacted anyway that could make a difference to you.</p>
<p>mdcissp: I had to chuckle when I read your post; you don’t know my daughter…we have had to worry about her “slacking off” during 2nd semester since 9th grade…we will have to worry about that whether or not she is accepted to her first choice ED or not…</p>
<p>The high school she attends does not really have the “social” or should I say “academic” pressure in the way you describe actually…with 100 or so kids in the graduating class, I could easily say that there are at least 70 schools the kids will attend…so it is a different type of “competition”…it’s not like the public school where everyone applies to the same schools…well, maybe the top 5 kids or so, but certainly not at my daughter’s level…</p>
<p>Our hs has an on-line gradebook system - the bane of my son’s existence! I log in at least 3 times a week and I can see every grade in every class - quizes, tests, even homework assignments. If he fails to complete something or does poorly on a quiz - I am on it (him). He and I have an agreement - as long as he maintains at least a B (in honors class, A in regular) - I keep quiet. As soon as a grade approaches a C (or B in regular) - I am free to hound, nag and micromanage. So, no worries about senior grades slipping, he knows the consequences!</p>
<p>I do agree about your other point - and it is not just for ED - it is for everything college acceptance/rejection related. This is an area where it is good to tread lightly. One student might be thrilled to be accepted at a particular college, and not even realize that a friend just got rejected by the same school. One person’s safety is another person’s dream school and so on - tact is the word of the day during senior year.</p>
<p>^^the way my daughter’s school works, we wouldn’t know until the report cards came out…they are strong believers in students taking responsibility for their own stuff…and accordingly, a “C” is perfectly fine for them…not, however, for us…has caused some interesting issues in our household…but ITS OVER!! last day of finals!</p>