Sr. Parents: Question about ED

Maize_amp_Blue
Fri, 22 Apr 2005 12:24:41 +0000

That’s a bit of what worries me. Is it wrong to apply ED to a match or safety if that truly is your first choice school?

carolyn,

Absolutely not. If she’s as mature as your posts have described, she has assessed the situation and determined what’s best for her. If it’s where she wants to go, go for it. Match, safety, who cares? Why do we have to overly rationalize choices that are clear?

Second child, our D, was very particular about what she was looking for. She (and we) did significant research on most of the top tier LAC’s (50ish), visited about 20 of them in the west, midwest, and east, and corresponded with several of her preferred choices. She spent a month at Smith in a science & engineering summer program to determine if she really was a science nerd (happy to be surrounded by other science nerds?) and if she wanted a women’s college. She loved her trial run at an LAC, and learned #1 was a yes, and #2 was a no. So she/we did our due diligence.

She applied ED at Carleton in the fall of 2007, and for only one over-riding reason: IT WAS HER #1 CHOICE BY A LONGSHOT! All other motives were derived from that simple fact, but we kept citing them to make this ED decision fit our need to be rational.
[ol]
[]Her test scores put her just below their median. Her 1/300 rank, taking the most rigorous courses, was clearly in her favor.
[]Carleton’s overall admission rate had historically been sliding down into the low 30’s. For her class of 2008, it was 28%. ED was about 50%.
[]There had been a steady increase of applicants from our state, and particularly from our metropolitan area.
[]Fortunately, finances were under control. We did not qualify for need-based aid, and Carleton does not award merit aid. Nor did most of the LAC’s she had on her list. As it turns out she somehow qualified for $2250 in work-study, but I have since deduced that work study is under the institution’s control, so they seem to provide it to almost every student. Highly motivated work force without paying benefits!
[li]She wanted peace of mind for the majority of her senior year.[/li][/ol]

We did not encourage her to apply ED for strategic reasons. Students at our school do not generally follow that path. It was her choice, based upon her clear assessment of herself and her preferences. She had all other apps ready to go. In fact, her rolling admission to U of Washington (her “for sure” school if disaster had struck) came the same day as her Carleton admit. So she did have the pleasure of 2 large envelopes in the mail box without having to wait until late March. My fear was that once she had the ED acceptance in hand with 9 months left before she’d get there, that she would develop an incurable case of buyer’s remorse. I also thought she’d end up being a bit jealous when her friends received multiple acceptances. I was wrong there - she took great delight in educating her classmates about “what school?” and “where is that?” Very few of our students attend out-of-area LAC’s. I had underestimated her evaluation of herself and her bond with the school. As she’s finishing her freshman year, Carleton has proven to be the terrific fit that she had consistently professed.

Our first child, our S, did not use ED. He was rather loosey-goosey about the whole process. We had to micromanage. He had many large schools that fit his very broad criteria and had a top list of 4. One stood slightly above the others, but he believed that all 4 were just fine with him. He got 3 of the 4 and was happy as a clam at UMich.

The most important lesson I got out of this ED process was that my child was extremely capable of assessing what she wanted and needed, and was adept at asserting as much control as she could over the situation. I discovered how mature my child had become in making such an important adult decision. From what you’ve shared about your daughter, she sounds like she assessing her situation very clearly.