Even with an ED application, my D applied EA to all the colleges that had it as an option. Those results came in first, and it was nice to have those acceptances in place early in the process. She felt that no matter what the ED decision was, or the subsequent RD ones she would have if rejected ED, it was comforting to know that she had a few great schools to choose from already. And I felt that those acceptances would cushion any possible bad news down the line. I honestly don’t know why kids don’t use the EA option where it’s available (not talking SCEA here, but just the unrestricted ones). There are some great colleges out there that offer EA (and the ones D applied to were also generous with the merit aid).
In my D’s case she was planning to apply SCEA to one reach, but she got sick and did badly on Subject SATs so she decided to retake after EA deadlines. Another lesson for younger D - take subject SATs early - preferably right after corresponding AP test.
That’s a very good point, @scholarme. Taking those tests early on gives kids time to do a re-take if anything goes wrong. And if not applying SCEA, there are lots of EA schools that don’t require subject tests. The one thing I don’t like about SCEA is that the kids we know who used it and were deferred or denied didn’t have a few nice EA acceptances to cushion the blow.
SCEA does not prevent one from applying EA to those publics that offer it; I applied EA to a public uni hoping to get an acceptance to soften the blow in case I did not get accepted SCEA.
But @MamaBear16, IIRC, your D withdrew all applications after the successful ED letter came, right?
We definitely went with an SCEA strategy. Kids grow too much during senior year for us to be comfortable with ED, even if the finances worked out. The SCEA gave a good read on how strong or weak D’s application was, and helped hone the applications, though I made sure that any schools that she liked as well or almost as well as the SCEA application were applied to before Dec. 1. She’s now choosing between that SCEA school and 2 schools that have ED programs (but she applied to RD).
Have been mostly lurking and watching others’ news. Happy to say DD made decision last week and sent in deposit to Colorado School of Mines. No regrets or second thoughts have been apparent at all. She got accepted with varying merit awards at 10 of 11 schools; only turned down at highest reach. No full rides by any means, but 4 schools plus our super safety school met our family affordability threshold. We managed to get her early April low-cost visits back to the two finalists. Enjoyed both but the preference to go to an engineering-dominated school came through clearly (there was always applied math and science focus). This emerged strongly over last 3-4 months of senior year, but wasn’t as clear when we started, e.g., with family stops at schools over last year or so. I.e., the final choice wouldn’t have been easily predicted at beginning. Thus, it probably made sense to have cast a fairly wide net. Travel and logistics won’t be to bad for us, so that takes away lots of worries. We’ve learned much from CC discussions, as we move onto DC#2 next year.
Yes, @IJustDrive, my D withdrew all her apps the day she received her ED acceptance. I have to admit I was interested to see the results of the ones still pending, but we play by the rules and she withdrew them all. Our school CC is very clear on this, although she told D not to worry if one or two more EA decisions came in a few days after her withdrawal since sometimes things are already set in motion and can’t be stopped.
I think SCEA makes a lot of sense since it challenges kids to pick just one to apply to, but for a kid who gets a denial (and we know quite a few) it can be a crushing blow since there is no acceptance in hand at the time the SCEA decisions are released. Both ED and SCEA have their downsides.
Applying EA, or getting early acceptances was a mixed blessing for us. We needed FA and/or merit to make them work, and the whole picture on that didn’t come until much later, so each acceptance was exciting, in that they wanted her and accepted her, but she had to try to reserve getting too excited until the numbers came in. Of course, human nature being what it is, she did get excited about a couple of them, particularly when they attached merit aid, but in the end, the whole FA package just wasn’t what we needed it to be. So that early acceptance, I think, made it harder to take the eventual reality of the high COA.
Now, the early rolling admission from the state schools that we knew we could afford…those have been very nice to have! And thank goodness we made applying to at least one state school a requirement! She ended up applying to 3…the 3rd, and seemingly least likely (originally liked it the least of the 3, but tacked it on for some reason) seems to be where she is going to be headed!
She really is doing well with the decision. D has been one of those kids that, for much of her life, people would expect a lot from her, and I think she felt a certain pressure to meet those expectations and go to a ‘wow’ school…not necessarily a super selective school, but one that was different, therefore more exciting, than where “everyone” was going. And she wanted to branch out also…somewhere ‘more exciting’. But at the same time, now that she knows where most of the others in her program are going, she feels she is in good company, heading to one of our state schools.
The SCEA she had planned to do allowed rolling or early apps to public institutions, so she did have those. She didn’t have any private apps ready to go when she decided not to do SCEA after all though.
I wish our GC had been more helpful in junior year, seriously.
Congrats @Economo!
Correct, although publics don’t work for every kid, and in CA the UCs don’t even release their decisions until March so students don’t get a nice, early acceptance. My D applied to several OOS privates, which would not have been ok under SCEA. Those privates offered her generous merit scholarships, bringing the costs below or equal to the cost on an in-state UC, but they offered a much better fit. I really do believe the line I read on CC all the time, stating that “A safety isn’t a safety if the student doesn’t want to attend.”
Left of Pisa, I sent you a PM.
Agreed!!
@ijustdrive I haven’t seen anybody here (at least recently) who has violated (or considered violating) the ED rules. What I’ve seen is an expression of concern that maybe it isn’t going to work out, sharing feelings of regret. Maybe I’ve missed it?
Turns out that in any case (ED or EA or RD) if you aren’t 100% convinced that the right decision was made, there is time for change in the future. Transferring is pretty common and sometimes you really can’t know until after the first or second semester.
This is intended more for the parents of 2016 or 2017 kids than for those of us who have just been through this grueling year:
If you do choose to go the SCEA route, please, please do whatever you can to persuade your child to get at least some of the other applications in before December 1. If it’s possible, allocate some time over the summer before senior year to read and organize essays and the bulk of the common app. I had anticipated the effect of a denial or deferral but I had not anticipated the effect of an acceptance. The denial might temporarily floor a kid but the reality is that those other apps then have to get in. It’s unpleasant and less than ideal no doubt but it gets done out of necessity.
What I had not anticipated is the effect of an acceptance. That unexpected yes can stop a kid in his tracks and that’s not ideal if the student has not made the sort of mental commitment to the school that an ED student has. It’s much easier to move on with more apps if they are, for the most part, done before the SCEA/REA results are released.
And that my friends is my advice for the day. 
@3girls3cats is right on there. We absolutely went through this with D’12. I think that there are other schools where she might have had an even better experience than the SCEA school she is attending. And that’s why with D’15 I nagged until all of the “reachy” applications were done, prior to December 10 (earliest possible SCEA decision date).
If the SCEA decision comes out positive, it really does take all the starch out of other applications. If the SCEA decision comes out negative, the ego does indeed take a beating and it’s hard to react in a measured, appropriate way to the other applications. Unless, of course, those other applications have ALREADY been submitted. It was tough, but SO worth it.
(Also, by December Senior year, the shift in attitude often called Senioritis has started to kick in, and it’s really tough getting anything done!)
what is SCEA
Single-Choice Early Action
https://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/early
Here is a breakdown of the terms.
There is also REA or restrictive early action which is similar but slightly less restrictive than SCEA, single choice early action. REA also allows applications to private schools that have early application dates to be considered for scholarships (Tulane for example) and to any schools that provide rolling admissions. In both cases though, the decisions coming from those applications must be nonbinding.