<p>There are plenty of people who love NU but don’t apply ED because they want to try their luck at a couple of the tippy-top schools. However, for those who don’t get in early at those schools, do you guys think they should have another chance to show their love for NU? In other words, do you think NU should offer ED2? This would also allow those who do have NU as their first choice but want to strengthen their record with 1st semester senior year grades or re-take SATs/ACTs to apply ED.</p>
<p>uh…no.</p>
<p>Some schools that offer it already are Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Emory, and Middlebury.</p>
<p>I think they would benefit from it. A lot of people that don’t get into those “tippy-top” schools the first time around are disheartened and concerned about their RD chances at schools of similar caliber. Obviously, NU is right up there, but not quite as selective as HYP etc. I think a lot of people that get rejected from the most competitive schools the first time around would be likely to apply ED II at places like NU and those that midcat mentioned. All excellent schools, but not the absolute top in terms of competitiveness. They would feel a lot more security, and it would be a great way for NU to catch some of extremely qualified people that didn’t make the cut at the Ivies.</p>
<p>I hate to be dumb, but I don’t see any downside to an institution offering ED II. Is there one? Or is it that there’s some feeling that “elite schools don’t do ED II” – which is a very different reason from an ACTUAL reason an institution shouldn’t offer ED II.</p>
<p>I fail to see why students should be entitled to an EDII option. Let us review the purpose of the early decision binding option in the first place. The option is available to give students whose very first choice is Northwestern a chance to apply to the university and hear their results early. The premise of EDII in accordance to what allegrovivace states, it seems, is to give students a second shot - after rejection at some other top school - at declaring their “first choice” university, which I think is a) hypocritical on the student’s part, b) doubly unfair to students who cannot enter a binding agreement because of financial aid concerns, and c) not necessary to “catch” more applicants because of the large volume of applications that NU already receives. Not to mention that it would diminish the appeal of the existing ED option - oh look, I’ll apply ED somewhere else because NU has another, later, EDII option after I hear back from that other school yay. For a school of NU’s caliber, trying to “catch some of extremely qualified people that didn’t make the cut at the Ivies” reeks of desperation to me, which is completely unwarranted considering how competitive admission already is, and would not be congruent to the university’s prestige. Now I don’t know for what reasons a university would offer EDII, but I feel that it has no place in Northwestern’s admissions policy. ED is for students who actually love the school, not those who “want to try their luck at a couple of the tippy-top schools.”</p>
<p>Why? My S was just accepted ED to NU but if it hadn’t panned out he had several quite fine schools he would have selected from to ED II at. Probably Kenyon, but possibly Macalester or Brandeis. What’s wrong with waning to lock in? Likewise, my D, just accepted at a top LAC, would had ED II’d at Bryn Mawr if her ED hadn’t come tp pass. What’s the problem?</p>
<p>It seems as though you think there is signaling behind offering an ED II and you think NU is or should be “above” such signaling. I’m asking you to think dispassionately about it, not just “it’s tacky.”</p>
<p>There are arguments against ED being inegalitarian (supposedly why HY got rid of early admission), so I assume the same could be said and amplified by having an ED2 round, thereby filling more spots with those who are aware of such options (the argument implies mainly socially enriched kids (read upper-middle class and up) kids know about ED).</p>
<p>actually I have no idea what on earth is ED2 working for</p>
<p>I have a very emotionless view of admissions (while emotion is critical on the candidate side, I’m not sure I see it as valuable on the institution’s side).</p>
<p>I am indifferent to whether or not it is “tacky”. If it gets more qualified students to apply and potentially successful students to enroll, then it’s good. I remember some outcry about going onto the Common App a few yrs ago because it was going to make NU “just another school”. After our acceptance has dropped from mid-30s to mid-20s, our average SATs jumped from 1410 to the 1450 range, and our yield unchanged, I don’t hear that concern at present.</p>
<p>I also am indifferent to issues of inegalitarianism. NU, in my view, does enough on that front and our aid package is sufficient. I am not prepared to avoid a strategy that would improve our student body, present and future, because of perception.</p>
<p>However, I am STRONGLY opposed to ED II because of the “fall-back option”. I fear that at this point in NU’s development, few students would make NU their #1 if you gave them a free-roll ED I application to HYPS. Certainly many students grow up wearing purple, but I suspect a large portion of ED applicants applied ED because NU was the best school they knew they felt comfortable attending. Getting from “comfortable attending” to “unequivocally superior” is difficult. I don’t want to let anyone with a 1500 SAT who really likes, but doesn’t worship at the feet of, Northwestern think that they can try their luck at Harvard or Yale and then still come back to NU ED. </p>
<p>The fear of being in that slice of applicants who would get accepted ED and rejected RD is powerful. Let’s play on that fear and not let be anybody’s back-up plan.</p>
<p>NU does not need ED II to get good students. They are getting excellent and well qualified students in their present process. No need to start a new program for that.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a good idea. NU has a strong enough pull that it can compete for some of the very best students, albeit a certain kind, who then apply ED. I’ve noticed high-stats kids who are more laidback tend to like NU a lot. Let those extreme perfectionist superhuman types go to Harvard ;)</p>
<p>I don’t think the argument was that NU needs ED II to attract qualified kids. Duh, there are more than enough qualified kids applying. The question is – is there a downside if they were to? The “attracts wealthy kids” is no different from ED.</p>
<p>It’s expensive for the university to offer another round of ED and what does it gain them?</p>
<p>How is it expensive? What does it cost them? They have to evaluate the applicants regardless. </p>
<p>And might it be better financially as it locks in qualified full-pays? </p>
<p>Admitting students who aren’t committed – which describes the RD process – is a pretty inefficient process, too.</p>