That’s actually a great idea even if she does like them, since she might also like one of the others. Then, if ED doesn’t work out, there would still be an option (or options) she’s seen and is excited about. Brandeis is only about 20 minutes from Wellesley (depending upon time of day). The campus is not much to look at, but it’s really an excellent school, offers easy access to Boston, an EA option, and, unless I’m missing something, it’s eliminated the supplemental essay this year, so it would be an easy, early app. And of course, Holyoke and Smith are not too far from each other.
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To ED or not… it’s going to be a tough choice for us over the next two months. One of my daughter’s top choices is Holy Cross-- which is also my alma mater-- and she’s shown a lot of demonstrated interest. If she applied ED, I’d wager she’d get in. According to the NPC, we’d be full pay.
BUT, as a CA resident, and if she did get in ED, we’d be throwing away the possibility of the UCs, SDSU, and Cal Poly-- at one-third (or with SDSU, one-fourth) of the cost of attendance at Holy Cross.
A real dilemma. We’re leaning toward no ED, as the possibility of “never knowing what could have been” at UCB, UCSD, or UCSB is pretty tough. Advice welcomed 
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Wait… she has 8/8 applications submitted? What a rock star!! Which schools? This is amazing. Best of luck to her!
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It such a challenge isn’t it? You want to see all the options! What do you think her chances at Holy Cross are without ED? Also sometimes you can see ED vs RD rates to see if it makes much of a difference.
When we had this situation with D22 she spent her ED lottery ticket on a true reach—UPenn. We agreed that it was a no regrets decision for us. Even with everything on the table, if she got in, we would pay for it. She was rejected and then we did not do ED2. For us, ED was for her long shot and then we moved on. Does your D really really want Holy Cross?
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Mine has a really good shot at ED and even a legacy advantage but she is not ready to choose one school. So she is going to REA and we feel good about it. There can be regrets either way unless it’s truly truly the #1 and cost is not an issue.
We thought long and hard last year about my other child doing ED. She opted against it and didn’t get in but ended up feeling a better fit at a similarly ranked program with a huge scholarship and small honors program within a big school that we didn’t even know about until she got into that school. So anyway, it was awesome to see all of the acceptances and scholarships come in.
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D19 ED’d but she had a clear top choice. I have to say, knowing by mid-December took a huge amount of stress out of the process. I don’t believe in “strategic” ED - for me, it should be a clear no-regrets choice (both on the school itself and the finances).
The only school on C26’s list that offers ED is one they’re still debating applying to, so no ED for us this time round.
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Today was S26’s first day of senior year. He seems a little bummed about his classes—he’s not with any of his good friends. He said it didn’t feel like senior year… just like junior year, part 2. I’m not sure why he’s feeling this way, but I’m trying to listen and absorb. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
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Ugh, I’m sorry. I hope he settles in and that things improve.
Mine is also starting the year out-of-sorts. It doesn’t help that her twin brother has already graduated and left for college, while she is starting her 14th year at the same school. (She did a “pre-first” year they offer for kids who need it.)
We tried several times to sync her up with her twin, but it never worked out – he’s always been at different schools and on a totally different path, while she is at a rigorous college-prep private school. So we left it alone, but now we’re seeing the mental/emotional fallout of an extra year of schooling when she’s a twin.
Add to that a new restrictive cell phone policy at the school (you have to lock your phone in a “phone jail” upon arriving to school, and you can’t retrieve it until after school – no phone at lunch, even) – along with some other annoyances, and she is just feeling DONE already.
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D26 got her schedule. She was so burned out last year with sports, school and standardized testing that she could not stomach the thought of a super rigorous senior schedule. She’s still debating whether or not to try to get into another AP class so she can be with her friends for lunch.
She’s locked in to her ED1 commitment, so while that should ease the stress in the household, I find myself more anxious that I thought I would be. Maybe if her essays and application were done, I’d rest easier. Or maybe I’m just fooling myself. Who knows.
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She wanted/needed to get them in early as she is captain of her fall sport and the season is in full swing- no way she would have had time to get them in for EA deadlines otherwise without a full blown breakdown, Lol.
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I applaud her forward thinking. D26 is also captain of her fall sport and she’s too busy looking for a Homecoming dress than working on her application(s). 
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Big covid outbreak at school. D26 was feeling extremely worn out and exhausted this week and was starting to think her schedule was too difficult this year. I convinced her to take a test, and the test was positive. In restrospect, she was feeling sick but was interpreting her symptoms as “tired.” She will be staying home today to rest and get better. Probably a lot of this is going around out there, since it’s the beginning of school, so watch out folks.
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I would say they’re very good ED; toss-up for RD. Her application is strong all-around, including legacy and SAT, except for the top criterion, GPA (she’s about at a 3.7 UW). And although the ED chances are significantly higher than RD, it still not may be enough for us to rule out not only the CA state schools, but other, slightly lower ranked private Jesuit schools at which she may have a shot at merit. So that’s the calculus we’re working with: no ED by a thin margin.
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I think the private Jesuit schools are often a real good option in terms of the actual quality of education. We have some on my daughter’s list but they aren’t always affordable (for us) without an additional scholarship from the school.
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We like them too and I’m sad that the possible ones we might look at don’t offer the major C26 wants to do.
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I just did some calculating and 11 of my daughter’s applications are to schools with EA. I know EA is vastly different than ED — but anyone have a sense of how much of colleges classes are determined during EA? I don’t think it gives any really acceptance advantage - but it would be nice to maybe hear something early. Can anyone talks about thier older kids’ experiences during EA? Are deferrals usually rejections?
Depends on the school. Some like UMD and Purdue fill the vast majority of their classes in EA and are very up front about it. Others like UM defer most of their EA applicants.
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There are also some where merit funding is prioritized for those who apply by the EA date.
From what I have seen, there is no downside to applying EA (assuming of course that the application is ready) - while recognizing the upside can vary quite significantly between schools. Our school college counselors recommend applying EA wherever possible.
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And honors college too.
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