@mommdc , she has until Nov 8th at midnight, so we won’t know about any other merit offers besides potential NMF scholarships.
@glido ,we do not fit the first scenario you mentioned (no bad weather near the school or near us, nor any technical problems…she applied weeks before the deadline). Your second scenario would be a dream come true as I would hate for her to be rejected after this rollercoaster of decision-making. The school is highly competitive (about a 10% acceptance rate) so it’s a reach for anyone.
How did you hear of that second scenario? Wouldn’t the school just admit the student under RD? D is a NMSF with a 35 ACT and 4.0 UW, but she certainly has no hooks so we aren’t banking on acceptance anywhere selective.
Edited to add: I read your post again, @glido and I see what you mean now. Yield. You are suggesting they want to lock students in if they were a fit for the school versus chancing that the students accept offers elsewhere. Got ya.
@Kayak24 Sounds like @glido 's scenario #2. I’d recommend going ED, as it is her top choice and you can always decline or bargain, if the FA isn’t enough for you.
@Kayak24, if the financial aid office gave you numbers that makes the school affordable, and it’s your D’s absolute #1, then I’d go ahead and have her switch to ED, BUT, I’d make sure to tell her that this does not mean she’s in so that if she gets deferred or denied, she’s prepared. Man, what a rollercoaster!
ETA: I recall a year or two ago reading about a Questbridge kid who did not match at a school, but the school suggested he change his app to ED/EA (can’t remember) and then the kid was deferred. I believe he was accepted RD, but I remember thinking why the heck did the school do that just to defer him? Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there.
Thanks, all! Here is a cut/paste of the email for anyone curious:
Hi (first name),
We noticed you submitted a Regular Decision application to X. Since your application is already complete, you may wish to consider the Early Decision (ED) plan. Although our ED deadline recently passed on November 1, you’ll have until Wednesday, November 8, to change your application status.
If you feel X is your first choice school and you haven’t already applied Early Decision to another institution, applying Early Decision is a great way to receive your admissions decision earlier.
Should you choose to apply Early Decision, reply to this email at (email address) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, to let us know you’d like to change your application term.
Keep in mind, Early Decision is a binding agreement to enroll if admitted.
…That was followed by some links about exploring the school.
@Kayak24 I’m no expert, but sounds ideal to me. They obviously flagged the app for a reason and ED often doubles your chances of acceptance. You would probably have to peel me off the ceiling, but then, I’d also be one of those players spiking the football in celebration before I actually reached the end zone. :-j
I’d love not to get our hopes up but it’s challenging. I was trying not to read into it because maybe all RD applicants got the email. But it’s nice to dream big, right?
Of course the devil on my shoulder is thinking “what if” on additional selective colleges bc maybe she’s a stronger applicant than we thought. ED acceptance means you’ll never know, but that’s the trade off for your favorite school, right?
I will certainly keep you updated so we can all learn whether or not to read into future emails of this nature. \m/
Just curious how successful parents of older kids have been in negotiating more merit aid. I realize it will depend on the school. go2boy’s merit money has ranged from $14K-$22K per year…Should he hold out on committing closer to May 1 or do you think that schools will want to have the comfort of a committed student?
We thought son would hear from a rolling safety when decisions were released Oct 1 (he submitted app on Aug 7th) but the portal still says his application is under review. He e-mailed his local admissions rep 2 weeks ago to check on his status but never heard back (the only rep from all of his schools to have not responded to an email). He called the admissions office today and the lady who answered was rude and gave him a scripted timeline of hearing back in 2-3 weeks.
There is a little box in the portal to click if you want to withdraw your application and he is very tempted as he has already heard from and gotten in to 2 of his top 3 choices. But, after going through the trouble of him filling out the application, paying $12 to send his SAT scores and $50 to apply, I told him to just wait it out and get an answer one way or the other. But that little withdraw box is like a blinking beacon every time he or I check the portal.
@Kayak24 I have no experience with this, so it’s probably helpful if someone else chimes in. But if your D converts over to ED because you think the NPC shows a figure that is do-able for you, I’d do a screen shots of my inputs and the final calculation. Then, if she gets accepted and the actual number is off in a bad way, you can tell them that you committed on the basis of their NPC and she’d be happy to go if that number were correct.
@VaNcBorder Sounds to me like the decision to withdraw the app at this point would be an emotional one (which to me should be avoided in terms of colleges). What would be the benefit in withdrawing the app now? You have 2 top choice acceptances but you never know what may change/happen in the next several months. If anything, I would suggest to you and your son that you act like you withdrew that application (meaning, don’t check the portal again for a while – maybe the week after Thanksgiving).
Yes @saillakeerie that emotion would be frustration. But he is going to keep his application in play and wait to hear an answer. He applied as a safety, but maybe it will end up not being a safety after all. That’s why he applied to 2 other safeties, 4 matches and 2 reaches- you just never know. I would love to have the will power you are suggesting in waiting until after Thanksgiving to check the portal again, but will power is not my strong suit LOL
I don’t remember if you can change passwords for a portal. If so, have your son change it to one you don’t know. Then you won’t have to worry about will power.
S got his first acceptance this afternoon, to University of South Carolina with an academic scholarship that means we would pay at most in state COA. Final scholarship info to be announced in March. This is doable for us. This means he will definitely go to college somewhere next year. Yay! So relieved!
@glido@Kayak24 - We are in the CA wildfires area and about 2 weeks ago an Ivy sent my D a notice that the SCEA deadline was being extended from Nov 1 to Nov 10 for her, based on her ZIP Code. They also gave her an automatic fee waiver. She doesn’t have them listed on her common app so I’m not sure how they got her info unless it was through ACT based on her test score range. Not enough to entice her to apply though… 8-|
Some good news here (no - no acceptances - not for a while). S’18 was accepted to the All-State Orchestra. A nice cherry on top of his High School musical career. He’s been waiting to hear to update his Common App and submit a couple of non-EA applications. Still a few more to go, but getting closer.
