It worked with S24 as well. He received merit money from all his applications, and his top two schools came in at roughly the same price (within a couple thousand). But the one that gave him a lot more merit money* was the one he liked more after all was said and done.
*Obviously that school’s sticker price was higher to begin with, but they also offered summer funding as part of his merit as well as some other money perks.
I wonder if they’ve changed the approach in the last few years. D19 definitely was not offered it with a deferral, more just something like “you’ll increase your chances”.
THIS!! I feel like schools (esp some of those that are experiencing enrollment declines) need to sit down and really hear this. My kid got into 3 EAs. College A said, we think this much but stay tuned, College B said this much plus maybe more, we’ll let you know in 3 months, and College C said we really love you, here’s a lot of money. College C was a last minute EA application bc it didn’t require an extra essay. I think the rank before these decisions was A, B, C. And now it’s C, B, A! Completely flipped upside down and now C is getting a lot of love and new interest from my kid where they may not have really looked into it thoroughly before. The more we look, the more we like. Not to mention, she got a personal email from her regional AO (continued from an earlier email back and forth) congratulating her and asking what they could do to help. Love the school that loves you back, indeed.
As the weeks go by, the farther and farther down the in state publics fall because their EA decisions don’t come out until Feb. (Virginia publics are so slow!) And even the other oos or privates we were considering have fallen far too. I feel like the colleges with pre Xmas decisions really have an advantage. A 6 week head start with a kid imagining themselves on your campus is priceless, and worth doling out some merit.
I feel like we are shopping for a car. You don’t really know the price you’re going to pay until they put the contract under your nose, at which point you’re emotionally invested. There are arbitrary deadlines set by the seller that are for you not for them. As for the quality, you can only go by 3rd party reviews and brand name. It’s a ton of money to plunk down when you are at a clear information disadvantage compared to the seller. Really just a process designed to disadvantage the consumer all around. 
Most people here on CC in the past complained that Northeastern was sending out too many emails. Maybe they changed their mailing policy.
ESPECIALLY when a bunch of other kids are finding out about ED decisions and celebrating being done before the holidays.
While everyone’s goal in applying ED is an early acceptance, it can also have some value if you end up on the WL.
If, God forbid, your kid ends up on the WL at the ED2 school (i know, i know – more uncertainty), they may have a better chance of getting “the call” in May/June because the goal of Admissions when they get to that point in the process is to get the class fiiled as quicklyas possible. Having applied ED indicates that they are likely to say yes.
And the dealer tells you to trust the process because after talking to you for 5 min they know exactly what car you need to drive…
Son got 2 acceptances yesterday - both safeties (UVM and SLC), but with great scholarships, so that helps. My gut tells me UVM will probably fall of his list and SLC is a school that I’m surprised is even on his list. Only 20% male, but he’s a writer and they have great faculty in that dept. A very generous scholarship makes it more interesting for sure. Tomorrow is a big day - one of his top choices comes out -fingers crossed tightly as it’s a high target for him.
This is precisely the core reason that I believe ED should be illegal.
Not just rare, not just not practiced—illegal.
So I preface this by acknowledging this is my first time through the process, but do you think when those shiny new acceptances come out in March and those schools are the hot new thing, the November and December acceptances will be forgotten and the March release schools will move back to the top?
I think it depends on the school. For the people waiting to hear from something like an Ivy, then yes, those are amazing opportunities and the glow of the prestige will be big.
But then there’s always something like UCONN. UCONN doesn’t offer EA, only ED. My child was interested in UCONN, but it wasn’t an ED option (even if everything else was perfect, cost is a factor so we need to know merit aid). By the time their RD decisions come out in March, he’ll have heard back from every other school and likely have gotten pretty invested in and excited for one or more of them. UCONN is not “special” enough amongst it’s competitors that I think it would feel significantly shiny to on it’s own drum up huge enthusiasm. Unless there is something else they can offer - like really big merit, or some kind of special program or something - that makes it feel unique.
Same thing with Va Tech - it’s similar enough to the cohort that it’s competing against, that by the time even the EA announcements come out at the end of February, I think a lot of kids will have a hard time switching gears.
For my S22 the school we had to wait on was his dream school. Top number one, absolutely where he wanted to go. As we started the process it had the program and setting that appealed to him most. He was being recruited to row there and had met with the coaches and was excited to be on the team. But it was a very expensive school and we had no financial need, so we needed to do RD and wait to see if he got merit aid (the school historically doesn’t give much, but he had a profile that suggested he might get some). Despite months of continuous contact with the crew team, two visits to the school, lots of email with outreach, waiting until that decision came in the second half of march really took away from his excitement. He had already made a pro/con list of his other top three choices and had spent time really imagining himself at each of them and getting excited about each of them. He got in to the “dream school” and was happy, but they didn’t offer him any merit. I really thought he’d be bummed, but those intervening months had taken the shine off the school - he had spent time thinking about the others and getting excited about the others and it was surprisingly easy for him to let the dream school go when the pricetag came in too high.
So, sample of only one, but I think if a kid is excited about an acceptance they have now, and really starts to think about and get excited about the possibilities, that’s hard to overcome for most schools. The exception would be the true dream schools. But for kids where they are looking at several good options, any one of which could be the right fit and make them happy, it really feels like the early schools have a leg up.
For the same kid? That can happen. I think one of the reasons kids get excited for the bird in hand (and they should!!!) is because it protects you from disappointment
Got into St. Olaf here too, but even after scholarship it looks like it’s still $40k a year. Twice as much as going to the U of MN (and living at home) would be. We’re going to stand back and let her decide now though, we’ll make it work if we have to.
I agree, it favors only a certain type of person, basically one who knows they can afford it no matter what. That’s not most people, it certainly isn’t us. That’s just one of the reasons I find it predatory, but it’s certainly the biggest.
It also benefits extremely low income families who gain admission to meets-need schools. But again that isn’t us.
I 100% agree - for publics. For privates meh, i don’t know, in the end, they’re businesses. If they use federal dollars, then yes, eliminate it. I think if the Ivies are truly interested in socioeconomic diversity (news flash; they aren’t) they’d eliminate ED voluntarily.
Closer to home, for Willam & Mary to offer ED as its only early option? As a Virginia taxpayer, I personally find that atrocious.
It will for my kid because she only has 1 acceptance to a school she LOVES so far. The other EA admits are “meh” to her. The only other ones she would consider–the UCs, UDub–are March releases.
And she has a merit email in her email for Univ at Delaware that came at 3pm and she has not opened because she is out celebrating the end of finals.
Side note: My husband donated a kidney to a known recipient today. All went well for both. My husband should hopefully be able to go home tomorrow.
Woo hoo! Thank you to your husband!