Early Decision for Civilian College

FØB Zero

FØB Zero

Enthusiastically American
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
205
Howdy,
Many ED applications are due this weekend. If we are applying to a SA (and it is our #1 college choice), should we avoid applying ED anywhere? I want to make sure I am making the right decision by not applying ED.

What about ED 2 (which is due December)?
 
Make sure you understand what ED entails. It’s a commitment to attend a school if they accept you. In other words, you are telling them that they are your first choice. If they are not — if an SA is your first choice — then to apply ED would be dishonest. Think hard about who is #1 and decide accordingly.

(If you find yourself struggling on this one, remember that ED is essentially the honor system at work. Now, think about how USAFA feels about honor.)
 
FØB Zero said:
Howdy,
Many ED applications are due this weekend. If we are applying to a SA (and it is our #1 college choice), should we avoid applying ED anywhere? I want to make sure I am making the right decision by not applying ED.

What about ED 2 (which is due December)?
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Who's "we"? I'm pretty sure DoDMERB will have difficulty with a multiple personality disorder.
 
If you are interested in ED at a Plan B school, I would speak directly with Admissions at that Plan B school and your USAFA ALO/USAFA Admissions to see EXACTLY what the policy would be in your particular situation at your particular Plan B school and the USAFA.

I would be hesitant to rely upon any opinion on your specific situation when it comes to ED unless it came directly from Plan B Admissions and your ALO/USAFA Admissions.
 
Also, do not confuse Early Decision with Early Action, as Early Action is not binding, but you get the decision from the college sooner.
 
FØB Zero said:
Howdy,
Many ED applications are due this weekend. If we are applying to a SA (and it is our #1 college choice), should we avoid applying ED anywhere? I want to make sure I am making the right decision by not applying ED.

What about ED 2 (which is due December)?
Click to expand...
The answer is yes. Avoid ED if your first choice school is a SA. If the directors of admissions at both the ED school and the SA create an exception for you, then you will probably be the first. This is true for ED and ED2. I would caution against relying on someone lower in the hierarchy. Schools take this issue seriously.
 
FØB Zero said:
Howdy,
Many ED applications are due this weekend. If we are applying to a SA (and it is our #1 college choice), should we avoid applying ED anywhere? I want to make sure I am making the right decision by not applying ED.

What about ED 2 (which is due December)?
Click to expand...
This question comes up every year. Do some research. There are some good post, for and against ED, when applying to an SA. So far the responses to your post are expressing one opinion. There is another side to this argument. Make the best decision for you.
 
FØB Zero said:
Howdy,
Many ED applications are due this weekend. If we are applying to a SA (and it is our #1 college choice), should we avoid applying ED anywhere? I want to make sure I am making the right decision by not applying ED.

What about ED 2 (which is due December)?
Click to expand...
ED2 is the same exact thing as ED1 for the colleges that have it: https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/early-decision-ii/

Since an SA is your #1 choice, I would not apply ED. If you are going to apply ED, I would suggest you email your guidance counselor about the CommonApp Counselor-ED agreement today. Counselors must sign off on any ED school. They can also talk to you more about ED if you decide to pursue that. It's more than just the honor code- your high school can directly suffer from an ED contract being broken. They might also share this news with your other colleges, rescinding your admissions.

My HS has seen it first hand. Although it is supported by anecdotal evidence, it is a large belief that my Bay Area high school is blacklisted from a broken Northwestern ED contract. We usually send 40% of our graduating class to HYPSM and other T10s, but we were never able to place at Northwestern again after a broken ED contract. I'm applying ED (not ROTC), and I made sure to let my Officer know that because of my ED agreement, an SA is not my #1 choice.

Also note that applying ED may likely diminish your financial aid package. A lot of merit-based financial aid (not need-based) is given to entice students to go to their college. However, since you are contractually obliged to attend your ED school given an acceptance, you may not receive the best finaid. If you find yourself unable to pay, or something changes (like a family member becoming unemployed or dying), colleges may allow you to exit your ED agreement, freeing you up for an acceptance to AFA or other schools.
 
Gabe_ said:
This question comes up every year. Do some research. There are some good post, for and against ED, when applying to an SA. So far the responses to your post are expressing one opinion. There is another side to this argument. Make the best decision for you.
Click to expand...
Plan B and ED are very different issues. There are valid arguments on both sides for a Plan B school. There is no valid argument for ED/ED2 if an SA is your first choice. Only exception is if the ED school agrees beforehand to be used as a backup - not likely.
 
Confirming story along with @APCalc - in my older DD's class were students playing patty cake with ED. We all know who they are, infamous for the ones that screwed over future classes disallowed from ED applications to schools you would really, really, really need to apply ED. Not anecdotal, actual instructions to Class of 2024. Don't be That Guy! And YES, the first meeting you have should be with your own GC.
 
jl123 said:
Plan B and ED are very different issues. There are valid arguments on both sides for a Plan B school. There is no valid argument for ED/ED2 if an SA is your first choice. Only exception is if the ED school agrees beforehand to be used as a backup - not likely.
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I respectfully disagree. There are no absolutes. I would encourage the OP, or any other applicant/candidate, to make the best choice for their circumstance.
 
Gabe_ said:
I respectfully disagree. There are no absolutes. I would encourage the OP, or any other applicant/candidate, to make the best choice for their circumstance.
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Kind of sounds like you are encouraging cheating! If you mean something else, why don’t you come out and say it directly.

I agree with all of the posts that warn against applying ED if your first choice is a SA.

If @Gabe is just saying applicants who are unsure about what they want should consider a non-SA ED application, he ought to be clear. I can’t even imagine it being proper to apply ED if you don’t intend to follow through on your agreements. To me, @Gabe seems like he is a troll. Sorry for the name calling, but I think his advice is some of the worst I’ve seen on this board.
 
Sorry if it has been mentioned, but here is a link to an earlier discussion on this topic:

Early Decision and USNA -- A Definitive Answer

If you want to attend USNA, do NOT apply Early Decision to a civilian school. The reason is that, if you are accepted to that civilian school under the ED program, USNA will require you to withdraw your application from USNA. It does not matter what the civilian school says. USNA is a...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

...talking about how the SAs can see the ED granted status and close applications.

To me, there is never a reason to apply ED unless you know that is the only way you'll be accepted to that one school, and that is the only school you want to attend.
 
UXO2020s said:
Kind of sounds like you are encouraging cheating! If you mean something else, why don’t you come out and say it directly.

I agree with all of the posts that warn against applying ED if your first choice is a SA.

If @Gabe is just saying applicants who are unsure about what they want should consider a non-SA ED application, he ought to be clear. I can’t even imagine it being proper to apply ED if you don’t intend to follow through on your agreements. To me, @Gabe seems like he is a troll. Sorry for the name calling, but I think his advice is some of the worst I’ve seen on this board.
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Hmmm a troll. Nice. First time to be called a name on here in 3 years, but I guess that's where we are. I was brief because I have a job and other responsibilities and priorities. Also the first time I have been @ed too. I must be doing something right.

"The worst advice?" I encouraged the OP to make the best decision for him/her. Not sure how that is the worst advice. As always, I encourage anyone to educate themselves outside of this forum. While there is a tremendous amount of knowledge on this forum, the responses are still coming from someone you do not know and more importantly you don't know their background. Therefore, I recommend to do your own research and contact the appropriate people for your situation.

I do have opinions on ED but much to nuanced to discuss in a forum such as this.

All the best.
 
As the recent events which sent a few ultra rich to jail have spotlighted, the admission process to "elite" schools can be a nasty game. Yes, some renege on ED, often, as said above, blacklisting those who follow. But Admissions Offices are not staffed by innocent babes. ED does result in higher tuition costs. In the past the Ivies have conspired to limit acceptances to qualified people to prevent their playing one against the other for aid. And I know of instances suggesting the same occurs on the other coast. The U Cal system sends congratulatory letters to students who applied to Berkeley for being accepted to Merced. Spots are often saved for a scion whose family may donate a building. Popular state universities are loaded with out of state students who pay full tuition while residents are shunted to branch campuses. This has especially become an issue in Vermont and Pennsylvania. I believe that GCs should send apologies for vouching for a student's integrity to the offended school and Academy. I know that some school will hold regular acceptances for two years if a students attends an Academy but I do not know if this holds for ED. Worth looking into.
 
If you are serious about serving your country at an SA, focus on your SA application. All others --> regular decision.
 
A few thoughts:
  1. "There are no absolutes" is itself an absolutism. There are absolutes when parameters are tailored to the situation, such as the character expected in a service academy appointee.
  2. The ED decision is pretty straightforward - the student, parents, and guidance counselor all sign a statement acknowledging/agreeing to the terms. In return the student receives the benefit of wrapping up the college application process before Christmas and possibly an advantage in admissions. Reneging on an ED acceptance, absent some extraordinary circumstance, screws the guidance counselor; classmates; and future applicants from the school, not the type of character one would want leading soldiers.
  3. The mention of the University of California System always gets me going - it is the most biased, self-serving college admissions system ever devised.
  4. "Ultra-rich" is often confused with merely wealthy. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Michael Bloomberg are ultra-rich and could buy their children's way into any university; those involved in the admissions scandal are merely wealthy and did what they did because they couldn't buy their way in, although they could afford to bribe a few coaches.
 
jl123 said:
  1. The mention of the University of California System always gets me going - it is the most biased, self-serving college admissions system ever devised.
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Not trying to start a thing here AT ALL, but I'm interested in the reasoning on UC admission.
 
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