Early Decision Trumps All!
In a recent Washington Post (see Voices.WashingtonPost.com), the writer purports to provide a list of 10 schools that students MUST apply early to.
1 Lehigh University (PA)
2 Johns Hopkins University (MD)
3 College of William and Mary (VA)
4 Cornell University (NY)
5 University of Notre Dame (IN)
6 Brandeis University (MA)
7 Duke University (NC)
8 Boston College
9 University of Pennsylvania
10 University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
I have not included the numbers as published because in my experience they are not helpful because:
1. If a student is applying Early Decision, their chances will be improved at any school. Your student says, “School you own me, I will think and research no more.”
2. If a student is applying Early Action, their chances may be improved a bit at any school. Your student says, “I like your school better than some of the other schools I am applying to but reserve the right to change that opinion after they all make offers to me.”
LESSON: If Early Action/ Early Decision numbers are not separated out they cannot be relied on to predict acceptance chances.
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You’re absolutely right: Early Action and Early Decision are two different animals. My daughter loved being able to apply Early Action, since it allowed her to find out before Christmas that she was into a school that she’d be happy at. It made the rest of Senior much more relaxing. On the other hand, I know someone else who was accepted to a school Early Decision many years ago, and when April rolled around and she saw what schools her friends got into, she wondered if she should have shot higher. Every situation is different, but a student should be very, very sure before they put all their eggs in the Early Decision basket.