Big? In what way? At most of these schools, you still have to be in the high ballpark for admissions even when applying ED.
I agree with the others. ED is binding. If she gets accepted at one of these colleges ED, that IS where she will be going to college and there is no changing her mind.
If she doesn’t have a stand out favorite…apply RD. Maybe one will rise to the top before May 1.
In the way of simple math - compare ED acceptance rate vs. RD acceptance rate even when you account for athletes, etc. The advantage is obvious.
One school has to be chosen sooner or later
Very good points and we will be applying to most of the schools you mention EA.
This advantage is only worth considering if your kid is absolutely sure the college is their top choice. If you are trying to choose a college because they admit a higher %age of applicants ED than RD, in my opinion you are using the wrong strategy.
ED should be reserved for the top choice college bar none…in my opinion.
ETA…these are all fine colleges with distinct differences. Your student would probably do well at any of them.
I understand you have a very strong opinion about this. Based on your experience…how many rising seniors out there know that one, and JUST one school, out of the potentially 20-30 or more that they would be happy at? And know this in the summer before their senior year?
I know of 0.
Miami has EA too. I would not recommend this student apply to the U RD.
100% know? - no one.
But kids think they do.
But - all schools have bad roomies, bad food, bad profs, etc.
But kids do have desires and you want them to hit so they feel good going in.
My kid goes to the 16th ranked of 17 admits. We went everywhere - prob 30+ schools including three of your four, one of which she applied to EA, got deferred like others, did her letter of continued interest and got in with the $25k. Her 4 or 5 friends all had the same except her now boyfriend who goes to Denver - he got in EA with $25k. Looking at the data I wonder if his gender caused that earlier acceptance ? No way to know - just wondering. The rest were females and all admitted with $$.
Why not Tufts? - it was on her original list of 109. We started big and culled down to 21 - so 88 came off.
No merit aid. I wasn’t going over $50k - personal preference. And I’m full pay. That took a nice chunk off.
The school my daughter attends was an early visit - and I knew on that visit no matter where she applied and got in, this is where she’s going.
Her process of a final four, two and one were laughable as I already knew 18 months earlier. Yep, she had rough times - bf separation early on. Yep she’s had bad (but mostly solid and amazing) profs , a bully roommate, and food she at first struggled with but now is ok.
But in her mind it was the right school. Others may have been as good or better. We’ll never know. As a star student at a lesser school she’s had great enrichment, even beyond Honors, so that’s been good for her confidence and exposure.
In reality, your statement is not wrong.
We just try to strengthen odds. Many schools have high first to second year retention rates - a lot are based on experience and a lot are based on finances or lack thereof at those that are lower.
In the end, your daughter (not you but in counsel with you) has to take whatever info you deem relevant - from here or other places or just on her own - and make the best decision for her and not look back.
And like everyone else - hope it ends up with a great education and a lifetime of great memories.
I mean go back 37 years, I attended college sight unseen, across the country. While looking back I’d have chosen differently because I feel bad I spent so much of my dad’s money (he never gripes), I do have, overall, great memories that I cherish and one lifelong friend.
So it’s definitely not an exact science !!
Yes sorry - anywhere EA (non binding) is the way to go if they offer it.
Miami defers a lot EA. I saw it personally but more recently lots on the Miami board from last year show it continues. Still deferral there is not bad!!
I’m a bigger proponent of ED than a lot of the others commenting here. And I do think it is a game of sorts and I think my D24 “played” it well. But it does have pros and cons and is not right for everyone.
Having said that. I’m not sure ED will make a big difference in your specific case, based on your top schools mentioned.
Vanderbilt - It’s true ED acceptance rate is 3 times higher (17% vs 6%). But the rate is very low for both and a number of ED are likely hooked so the advantage for an unhooked applicant is probably a lot less than that. But i suspect there is still a small ED advantage. Your scores are a hair low I’d probably still submit but they won’t help you much. And your school doesn’t have a strong recent history of getting kids in. It’s a high reach for you. So…it’s a long shot for sure and ED may help a little.
Tufts and WFU - These schools don’t publish ED acceptance rates in their CDS (do they elsewhere?). I’ve heard a Tufts AO say ED doesn’t help and I would take them at their word. Your grades and scores are solid for these schools and they would be targets if their acceptance rates weren’t so low. Since they don’t publish ED acceptance rates we really don’t know if it will help and with overall low acceptance rates they remain reaches.
U Miami I think you have a good shot RD and a VERY good shot ED. Their ED acceptance rate is 60 percent and your grades and scores are solid.
So…I don’t actually think for these particular schools ED will have a big impact for you unless you definitely want U Miami and ED there.
What’s your favorite target and likely. And how far “below” your top 4 are they in your preference? For my D24 this was a key question. She had some great targets and likelies but she really wanted to go to one of her 6 reaches MUCH more than she wanted any of those. For that reason we looked very closely at how her reach schools handled ED. She did have a top choice where she applied ED but her ED2 plan definitely took into account how much ED would likely help at her 2nd, 3rd and 4th choice schools. That’s why I consider it a “game” of sorts. Fortunately she got into her ED1.
Anyway- best of luck to you!!
Just a clarification - Vandy 2028 = 3.7%
Wow
Don’t forget Tufts, Miami, and Wake love full pay. Doesn’t show up in the CDS. But they give aid to few overall (as need aware schools) relative to other need blind schools - they are rich kid schools for lack of a better word.
So advantage OP!!
Appreciate the great insight. This is why this forum is so valuable. I feel that I have learned more in the last 2 hours than I could have in any other way :).
Actually, my nieces and nephews all had a top preference and applied ED to that school. Of the group, they were all legacies at the colleges and had been there many many times for events other than visits as students. Their parents and in three cases grandparents…had graduated from the schools also.
Two were accepted ED. The rest were not. Even with legacy and ED supposed bump, they were outright rejected ED. But they all landed well where they went so it wasn’t an issue in the end.
Our DD had a top choice…she applied EA to that school and was accepted before Christmas…and matriculated there, and graduated from that college. The school didn’t have ED at the time which was a good thing, because we probably would not have signed an ED agreement…because…as you noted…so many students just don’t have that number one choice as rising seniors. We wanted her to have some choices come May 1.
If your daughter wants to apply ED to one of these colleges, fine. That is yours and her decision. I would suggest that she submit her RD applications as well…answer if she is accepted ED, she can withdraw those applications. I can’t think it would be fun to complete RD applications following a rejection from your ED school. Better to have them done…and withdraw if she is accepted.
I will say, I can say with confident I think OP would get into UMiami ED.
Non ED, she has the stats, but they love demonstrated interest so apply EA and show lots of interest and she has a good chance.
While the ED advantage isn’t as great as it seems at first blush because of the athletes, legacies, etc., the CCs I know strongly encourage the kids they work with to use these early options because they do provide an advantage. At the very least, they signal true interest in attending. But I think they also have a bit of a first mover advantage – if they wanted a tuba player and they get one ED, they don’t need to fill that bucket RD. Often, when schools talk about ED not providing an advantage, they are saying that they don’t compromise on stats in this round.
So if a student has a first choice, this is a good option. Tufts seems to be an outlier, vibe-wise, on this list. But OP says they know that and are fine with it.
I’d probably do ED1 at my true first choice. There is also ED2 at some, so that’sa second chance if ED1 doesn’t work. Slightly different pool, but worth a shot. I don’t think a student in the top 5%of the class is throwing away an application at Vandy or Tufts, but I do think it’s a bit of a roll of the dice. (Btw, the colleges don’t care about weighted GPA, just unweighted.) But it’ll be your best roll. Not needing FA will help.
The TO question is trickier. A 33 is a good score BUT it may be lower than what has been getting submitted. I’d probably submit but I know that the CCs I know have talked about the decisions around submitting scores in this range and sometimes opt against.
How many of those APs does she have scores from, and are they 5s? I wonder if showing 6 AP scores of 5 and not submitting the ACT might be better, at least at Vandy and Tufts.
One other possibility- and one that pretty much goes against the grain for me – is to do some prep for the ACT and try again.
A last thought – make sure your D really combs through those websites and makes sure she puts together an application that highlights how what she brings is what the school is looking for.
This is the frustrating part of test-optional— your student has a really solid score, but it’s below that 50% point on the target school. In another year or 2 this next tier of schools (non ivies) may require test scores again and I bet those average scores will drop.
My oldest is at Boston College. His SAT was mid 1400s. A solid score, but BC shows such crazy high avg scores these days. After much debate, he submitted his scores, worried not submitting would make Admissions assume it was much lower. Part of that decision was based on his major. If you are applying for Math, Business, Science, we had heard that AO likes to see solid math scores. That was his better score. No idea who told us this, but, he got in. (Anecdotally, he has chatted with BC friends about test scores and there are definitely kids with scores in the 1200s, 1300s who didn’t submit and are doing just fine. )
How does your student feel about Greek life? Maybe that can help narrow your list.
Then ED is not the right choice for her. She’s be making a commitment to attend if accepted. That requires certitude.
This student’s score is below the 25%ile of students’ ACT scores for Tufts (class of 2027 admitted) and Vandy (class of 2028 admitted), links below.
I agree with you that the decision to submit is influenced by factors we don’t know (AP scores, avg scores of HS class/top 10%, ACT section scores, likely major, classes taken in HS, HS historical placement at these schools, etc),…that’s why no one here can give a definitive recommendation about submitting.
Hopefully OP’s D has a good college counselor who can add perspective to the decision.
https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/enrolled-student-profile/
I 100% agree with this. There is a reason boarding school college counselors strongly encourage EDing. They are some of the best, most knowledgeable counselors out there. They are well aware of legacy and other hooks. And they believe it confers an advantage.
I also don’t think a kid needs to be 100% certain there’s a clear 1st choice (Don’t bite my head off!). A lot of kids could be happy at a lot of schools.
Large public HS and the counselors cannot allocate a lot of time to individual students unfortunately.
She’ll give the ACT one last shot in September. Was unlucky in June…needs just one more point from Sci or Math to get to 34 but just matched her highest previous scores…