<p>@ 2prepMom: There are only a handful of top colleges that use Early Action (Chicago, Georgetown, Stanford, Notre Dame, MIT, CalTech and Yale…maybe a couple more if you expand the definition of “top”). Of them, several are “single choice” – meaning if you apply to their non-binding early action program, you’re not allowed to apply early (decision or action) to anywhere else – with the possible exception of rolling admissions at state colleges.</p>
<p>So it’s not awful advice. And for Stanford, the process has a high likelihood of leading up to a rejection. For Yale, a handful – including the athletic recruits – get admitted and the bulk just get deferred until later.</p>
<p>The EA programs usually have a higher acceptance rate, but it’s not because it’s any easier to get in through that portal. In fact, the applicant pool is more self-selected. And that’s when the athletes – some of whom know they’re going to be accepted when they apply – are run through the admission process. In a process like Stanford’s, in which they do considerable rejecting, there’s a big risk when you present yourself against such a highly competitive pool. There’s reason to believe (though one could never know) that some candidates who are accepted RD at Stanford would have been rejected EA when their applications were viewed in the context of the decidedly more competitive EA applicant pool.</p>
<p>There’s a downside in that the application is in a couple months early and that could mean some good stuff gets omitted. The essays may not be as well-tuned and if you’re deferred, you can’t resubmit new ones. Yes, you can send a fax or e-mail detailing your latest exploits, but you can’t incorporate it into an essay or present it in the same context. It’s very possible a regular decision (or ED2) application would give you a better shot because it will be a better application.</p>
<p>And even if a student is accepted, there’s a downside if the college isn’t the first choice and it’s not a good fit…because the point of early action is for the colleges to get a leg up on their peers regarding the most-sought-after candidates and they’re going to get their hooks in, for several months before the student hears from the other colleges. It could lead to a mismatch.</p>
<p>I think it’s a reasonable and legitimate position for a guidance counselor to make it a policy to steer students away from EA programs if the student wouldn’t otherwise apply to the program for binding ED or could benefit from the additional time before first presenting themselves, in application form, to a highly competitive college. The advice may not be great – in that I think these nuances and complex, interweaving considerations should have been spelled out for the student and parents to weigh for themselves – but I wouldn’t condemn it as bad advice, let alone some form of anecdotal proof that public school guidance sucks. For all I know, the advice was brilliant and reflects a level of understanding about admissions that you’d find from someone who is seasoned at helping students of all sorts of pedigrees and possessed of all sorts of gifts get into the best colleges for them.</p>