Early action at ND - worth it?

cptofthehouse
Wed, 28 May 2008 12:20:41 +0000

It really depends on whether your GC is giving specific advice based on experience or general advice. I know that ND has always said that EA applicants should be in the upper tiers, but studies some years ago showed that they were not acting on their advice, as student who applied early were getting in with lower scores than their RD peers. Don’t know if that is the case anymore after they were called on that.

I know in our case, it was a definite advantage to EA to the schools where S applied. The numbers made it clear. Now if your GC has info specific to your highschool that kids in your student’s situation will do better early, by all means do so. Otherwise, he is giving you conventional wisdom that may not apply in this case. In which case you may wish to hold off on the app.

Still, EA is not a bad idea as a litmus test on how strong the app is. My oldest son applied to GT, State School, BC, and Safety School early. It gave him a good idea where he stood. He was deferred at GT, accepted everywhere else with a merit package ast Safety. It then gave him a new starting point for the rest of his apps. He knew that he had BC in the bag for selectivity and Safety and state for financials. That gave him insights on where to place his other markers. Does ND reject or defer EA candidates? I have not kept up so I do not know. If they just defer, it gives you a chance to send other stuff to the school to bolster the app. If they just reject and are harsher or EA candidates, it would not be a good idea. If they do both, it could be a good litmus test. I suggest sticking a rolling and/or other early school in the mix so it isn’t such a stinger if the news is not good.