University of Wisconsin Early Action Fall 2025 Admissions

I believe more than a perfect solution, the need of the hour is a common, consistent and transparent solution.
ACT/SAT scores fit that bill best at this time.

Equity differences in test prep can be addressed by free coaching, funding etc, like everything else.

And… many whose parents get so wound up in the elite college rat-race are setting their kids up for a major dose of disappointing reality in the workplace… one that cannot be undone later.

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Yupp, especially for cases where it’s parents who’ve done more leg work than the applicant to seek admission to an elite school.

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I’m sure I saw the post you’re referring to, and it enraged me as well, even though my daughter didn’t apply anywhere ED. The fact that there could be long-term consequences to the schools and counselors should be enough for all students to follow through, yet it isn’t. I agree - parents allowing to pull out because their kids are fickle sends a terrible message.

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The previous poster said it. And i can point to so, so many more people who did not go to an elite college and accomlished as much or more as those who did.

And yes, my child is trying to get in to these same elite colleges for that first job or elite-network advantage… but these advantages wear off very quickly in the real world.

If you don’t agree, fine. I wish you and your child only the best.

By May 1, I will come to terms with the trade-off between the $25 to 75k/year price premium of these ā€œtopā€ schools and the likely short-lived benefits of a $25-50k 1st job salary bump + network…

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Can and reality are different, many privileged kids have time, access, motivation, pressure to do so - my kid too, most don’t.

My kid had all of this, performs at the top of her class, with overload in good EC’s - and totally sucks at standardized tests.

It won’t hold her back in any way…

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They are the only real, mostly equitable, option on the table… currently.

Which still doesn’t address the problem of too many equally qualified kids, too few seats.

I totally agree. We agonized over ED to Boston College. And then considered ED2 and at the end of the day my daughter wanted choices and we could not quite commit to the price tag. She knows her chances RD are not great and it kind of meant she let it go but that’s life. Don’t ED unless you have researched the cost, run the NPC and are 100%. There could be some really rare financial aid reasons but otherwise I am also so tired of seeing this.

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Mom of four!!! You and me both. This process is hard enough, and this year it seems like parents everywhere are dismissive of the consequences of breaking an ED contract. It’s our world today. Everyone out for themselves.

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I have to say I was wrong - I’m sorry!! I had my son forward me the email from 2023 - He was deferred EA & accepted on April 27 (before the Student Orientation events). He submitted a LOCI and mid-year grades. Best of luck to all!

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Ah, you crushed many hopes here… lol
Thank you for clarifying. And it’s always good to hear from parents who’ve gone through this grind before.

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No worries! Thanks for checking and the follow-up. Glad he’s loving it at UW!

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I am so glad we didn’t let our son ED. The cost was insane and he ended up getting a higher choice in the end anyway. I think ED is abhorrent anyway

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We had a similar plan, but ended up EDing to NYU Stern just two days before deadline. My DD and I debated it for several weeks, and eventually decided that it’s the only school worth EDing from her list where she personally would have zero regrets about what-ifs scenarios. We knew applying ED was the only option if we could have a realistic shot at that school given her stats; she wouldn’t have RDed if we decided to not apply ED.
BTW, my point isn’t about whether NYU is the right school to ED or not, but a general approach. She was rejected (as expected), but we steered clear of any further EDs.

At my kids’ HS, parents and/or other students would be calling the various colleges and reporting this foul. Not kidding, it happens all the time.

I have never heard a college AO say they did this. If they did, the AOs would themselves be in violation of NACAC ethics rules and even though those guidelines don’t have the heft they used to, most people abide by them. The college where I work does.

There are no ā€˜teeth’ to NACAC’s ethics rules because of a DOJ lawsuit a few years ago, a lawsuit that said NACAC’s rules were anti-competitive to the colleges and NACAC didn’t have the $$$ to take up the fight. The consequences of settling this lawsuit and dropping certain clauses resulted in things like spiffs to apply ED (including better housing, priority registration, even merit awards), deposit/enrollment deadlines well before May 1, higher deposit/enrollment fees so students feel the pain if they double deposit or get off a waitlist. There are more but you get my point. There never really were any ED police.

Best of luck to everyone waiting for their Wisconsin decision.

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If you haven’t seen this, it may help… it’s a little dated, but I see current posters’ names, who might help thru PM…

This happened at our HS. A student pulled from ED after getting into an ivy RD, which had been unexpected but it was mid-April when this student pulled her ED to another school. It created very bad feelings with the HS and the ED school, our HS use to be a ā€œfeederā€ for this smallish liberal arts school. No one was accepted ED the following year and the HS counselor told the students it was because there was bad blood and it would take some time for things to smooth over. I don’t think (?) a HS counselor would make that up.

Not saying it came directly from the AO, but the HS counselor DID say that they were experiencing a bit of a cooling period because of what happened.

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I believe you. The HS counselor should call NACAC because that behavior from the college is unacceptable and unethical (punishing students for something they did not do.) HS counselors (from accredited schools) are usually members of NACAC, as are AOs.

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Thank you for pointing out the NACAC rules, very interesting.