After your D visits Wake and does some more researching, she’ll have a better idea about how it compares to her other favorites. My kids didn’t have top choices, and they didn’t have the luxury of finding the absolute best fit of schools because they knew finances were the most important part of the decision. Heck I couldn’t even get my son to go on visits after one or two. However, I do think ED is worth considering in your daughter’s situation and she’ll probably have a better idea about whether she wants to go for it in a few months as the application deadlines get closer.
My opinion (which isn’t worth much) is that ED at Vandy is not a wasted application, especially if she can raise that ACT score one more point. Is she a good writer? If she has thoughtful and interesting essays that can help. My S got in RD at Vandy a few years ago as an unhooked applicant (I do think his essays were a strength of his application). The vast majority of his friends there got in ED. They are great students and kids, but so is your daughter, so nothing wrong with going for the one she wants! But, there are lots of places to have an excellent college experience. Good luck!
Mmm, not sure about that approach. The location of a school has a lot to do with likability, other things being (relatively) similar. It is a very important variable
Why did your daughter hate Wake Forest?
It’s got a nicer campus than Vanderbilt not to mention Tufts and Miami
FWIW, my D (35 ACT --34M/35S/35E/36R-- not sure of GPA but almost all As, a couple A-s, National Merit commended, solid but not special ECs) is probably going to ED to Wake. The other schools she is considering seriously and likes are Boston College, Georgetown, University of Richmond, and Dartmouth. Of those, Wake is her favorite. She’s more interested in a fun/rah-rah campus vibe than big city (she’s from NYC and wants different) and is interested in languages/linguistics, study abroad, and business. Wake checks her boxes and she likes the feel. She has visited twice bc ED seems like a big deal. It’s expensive and it likely takes her out of the running for (unlikely) merit money, but it’s her favorite – and she’s a strong candidate and would likely (but no guarantee) get in RD (her brother did with similar stats but chose a different school – FWIW bro did not ED, even though he knew it reduced his chances at some schools…but those weren’t his favorites, and his favorite only allowed EA…he wound up at a different place and is happy he did). She is going to talk to friends at Wake now this summer to double-confirm. She loves the idea of one-and-done early.
I put all this out there to give a sense of someone who is considering ED to Wake, what her interests are, and her process, in case that’s helpful.
Good luck!
Helpful for sure, thanks. I have the feeling our daughters like Wake Forest for similar reasons. Best of luck to her as well!
Doesn’t matter for OP in the sense that - one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
I’m not sure we got the best sense of Wake. We did 11 campuses in four days - because it was covid - and they weren’t doing tours (except Elon, which did a fabulous job). We had to stay in the car - which didn’t allow us a sense of Wake and Richmond, two we had great interest in. The deal was - to get on campus, you couldn’t walk outside.
So we drove the road around Wake - and every single building had a parking lot - vs. a centralized parking garage.
And to my daughter it was like an office park.
That said, we were not able to the other side of the buildings to actually see the inner campus.
Different things throw different kids off - at JMU, when she saw there was parts of campus on both sides of I-81, even though you’d only be on one side, it was gone. And it’s crazy, because at least IMHO, it’s one of the nicer campuses. VA does campuses well - Va Tech for my money is the nicest in America. UVA, W&M, and JMU are all FANTASTIC. And while it’s private - and I’ve been to Swat, Haverford and Bowdoin and more - but nothing comes close to touching W&L in regards to small campus. Virginia just does it right 
Wake wouldn’t have been a good fit anyway - but different kids react to different schools differently.
Vandy is universally loved on here. Being local, I’ve been many a time - and I don’t see it (campus wise). It’s fine - but nothing that makes me feel like, wow, I’m in heaven. But that’s me.
btw - I loved loved loved Elon - but the minute we left, it was gone - too isolated for my daughter. Wake was not near as isolated - but still too isolated for my daughter too!! But it was the multitude of parking lots that turned her off - as opposed to having centralized parking garages. She goes to school in the city.
Different strokes for different folks. That’s why some love, GW and NYU as an example - and others couldn’t fathom. Everyone has different tastes - and fortunately, there are schools out there for all different tastes.
But back to OP - they might LOVE LOVE LOVE Wake - and I hope they get there to make a determination one way or the other. Finding out you don’t like a campus is just as important as finding out it’s a good fit.
Your kiddo is obviously smart, talented and will do well wherever she lands. Something to consider- is she at all interested in the honors college at your state flagship? My own kid did the ED thing, he had zero desire to stay in state. But a friend of his ED’d to UChicago, was denied and panicked, ED’d 2 to Emory. Then later found out they received a full ride scholarship through the honors college, which she had visited and really liked after the application cycle. She did have some regret, and so did the parents, as Emory will cost them over $250k and that’s before med school tuition. Perhaps your kiddo can do a few more virtual webinars and visits before she decides which path to take.
Going to be a bit of a contrarian here in some respects, including in not telling you what to do re ED.
I would visit Wake as soon as classes are back. There is no way the same kid will be equally happy at Tufts, on the one hand, and the other three on the other; completely different places. Maybe your kid needs you to point out the differences; the pressure can be overwhelming for them. You may need to revisit some of these places in the winter or when the kids are there; as Sesame Street well put it and others said above: “one of these things [ie Tufts] is not like the others…”
On Vandy, I think you need to ask yourself a question that is rarely asked in College Confidential. Do you really think that a school at which your kid is projected to be below the 25th percentile ACT would be the best environment that will give your kid a realistic chance at success (especially not being a recruited athlete or major legacy donor kid)? The answer is not necessarily no if, for example, your kid is set (as much as one can be set) to work 80 hrs/week at an investment bank or consulting firm that only hires from target schools (which are likely to include Vandy and not to include the other three), as the shot might just not be there to take. In all other cases, I would personally want my kid to go somewhere where he or she places somewhat above the 25th percentile to make sure the experience is not a frustrating or worse one. I would discourage my kid from applying to Vandy ED in similar circumstances, bu that is a very personal choice.
On the question of whether ED makes a decisive difference at these schools in the likelihood of acceptance, I would say it seems sometimes yes, but you need to back out of the ED acceptance rate both the percentage of admitted kids in each class that are recruited athletes or legacies, to get a real adjusted ED acceptance rate. That data is available at school websites oftentimes, by backing out number of total athletes and the announced legacy % of admits. My guess would be that ED gives you a large edge at schools that have been on a strong (well-managed) downward acceptance rate in the last 5-10 years to raise their profile and appeal to (economic) 1 to 10 percenters from the Coasts, many times using the strategy of admitting 30% of kids in ED and 1-4% of kids in RD, such as Tulane and Northeastern (and some might speculate … UMiami and Wake; Tufts of course is known for perhaps having invented this playbook). You would need to parse the numbers though to get a real sense.
My main concern is that the inclusion of Tufts and the lack of real preference among the other three make me question the rigor of the search. I would guesstimate your daughter would do really well at school at either Wake or UMiami if she is OK with the sporty /fratty culture there, and you should look more closely at those schools with a bit more rigor re their academic and social offerings and see how those fit with your D to see if there is a difference as between the two.
Appreciate the great points. We will probably replace Tufts with BC in the list of ED candidates. Maybe include UVA as well, where it looks like there is a discernible benefit from ED for OOS. My daughter would love UVA too.
Absolutely. Nothing wrong with 250K staying in a 529 plan earning 5% a year.
You visited Tufts. Did you visit Bc?
If so, was she overwhelmed with love ? If so, it’d already have been on the list.
If not - why ED ?
She has the real chance of being of being the ED kid that is panicked they are headed to the wrong school.
Didn’t visit BC, the trip was very short. We should have.
I am a huge fan of Jesuit colleges so BC would be a good choice for me. BUT I fail to see any similarity between BC, and Wake, Vandy and UMiami.
Campus culture despite different religious backgrounds and campus setting? Our thinking of course - I appreciate your perspective.
The Jesuits most definitely have higher education down! Their commitment to giving back to the community is very strong. The sizes of their colleges are just right, in my opinion.
My kid graduated from Santa Clara University, another Jesuit college. And we were mighty pleased with her college choice.
And BC does have good basketball and football. If your DD is interested in that.
But really…such a different place than Wake, Vandy and UMiami…very different. And it’s not just the weather.
Planning another trip to Boston in July to visit BC. We are not Catholic. Wondering how emphasized the religious aspect is - although not opposed to that these days.
This is my fear. You are so, unnecessarily IMHO, in this rush to ED you are just throwing out the next high ranked school with no knowledge of it, and yes BC has a religious bent.
I’m learning from people who know more than me about this process :), nothing wrong with that…there is always an element of evolution in one’s decision making process.
The Jesuit colleges are very welcoming of all faiths. There will be a religion course requirement, but there are a lot of courses from which to choose.
Our DD is not Catholic. She never felt out of place or unwelcome. I don’t think that’s a worry you need to have. If, however, she would be offended by religious things about the campus, then think twice. There will be Christmas trees, and crucifixes around.
But in terms of being ecumenical…the Jesuit colleges are very much so.
It’s good you are planning to visit. Really…there is a huge difference between BC and the other colleges you have mentioned.
ETA…while you are in that neck of the woods…would she be interested in a woman’s college? Wellesley isn’t very far away and might be worth a look see.
Wellesley is ranked academically high for sure…my daughter would not be interested in a women only college though.