http://bettergrads.org/blog/2009/12/24/early-decision-later-reflections/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=early-decision-later-reflections We help public schools build college prep communities, one alumnus at a time. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:26:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://bettergrads.org/blog/2009/12/24/early-decision-later-reflections/comment-page-1/#comment-97 LisaRau Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:17:34 +0000 http://bettergrads.org/?p=669#comment-97 This speaks so clearly to the throat-clenching anxiety many college-bound high school seniors feel around application time, and how the pressure of what is oftentimes someone's first adult decision can blur the full picture. Betsy brings up a good point that many students find themselves thinking there's only one school for them, which can be limiting. Students who have access to guidance counselors and college prep programs will more easily be able to explore multiple options rather than focusing on just one. This speaks so clearly to the throat-clenching anxiety many college-bound high school seniors feel around application time, and how the pressure of what is oftentimes someone's first adult decision can blur the full picture. Betsy brings up a good point that many students find themselves thinking there's only one school for them, which can be limiting. Students who have access to guidance counselors and college prep programs will more easily be able to explore multiple options rather than focusing on just one.

]]> http://bettergrads.org/blog/2009/12/24/early-decision-later-reflections/comment-page-1/#comment-75 LisaRau Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:17:34 +0000 http://bettergrads.org/?p=669#comment-75 This speaks so clearly to the throat-clenching anxiety many college-bound high school seniors feel around application time, and how the pressure of what is oftentimes someone's first adult decision can blur the full picture. Betsy brings up a good point that many students find themselves thinking there's only one school for them, which can be limiting. Students who have access to guidance counselors and college prep programs will more easily be able to explore multiple options rather than focusing on just one. This speaks so clearly to the throat-clenching anxiety many college-bound high school seniors feel around application time, and how the pressure of what is oftentimes someone's first adult decision can blur the full picture. Betsy brings up a good point that many students find themselves thinking there's only one school for them, which can be limiting. Students who have access to guidance counselors and college prep programs will more easily be able to explore multiple options rather than focusing on just one.

]]> http://bettergrads.org/blog/2009/12/24/early-decision-later-reflections/comment-page-1/#comment-70 Betsy Woolf Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:43:41 +0000 http://bettergrads.org/?p=669#comment-70 Elizabeth: I have read this with great interest. As an independent educational consultant, I find your story fascinating and telling - and it does seem that the E.D. rejection certainly was right for you since Vassar would not have made a great match. Still, some of my students would not always see it that way. Of course, some would, often those that have the benefit of hindsight, having been deferred or rejected and then finding the right school via early decision. But I think what you say does indeed come from looking back. Students often think that there is only one school for them, so when they are rejected early, it feels like there is nowhere else they will like as much. But students do change in the months between December and April, and when those acceptance letters come, they have the opportunity to explore those schools in a much deeper way. Not only are they now courted by the schools that accept them, knowing that these students are not locked into any particular school, but they have the chance to knock on professors doors, so to speak, and get to know the teachers and the classes in a way they never could before applying early. They get to spend more time on campus, hear from more students, maybe even enjoy an overnight visit. After all, it is possible to fall in love more than once in life! Thanks for your insight and perspective. Betsy F. Woolf, director, Woolf College Consulting. Elizabeth: I have read this with great interest. As an independent educational consultant, I find your story fascinating and telling – and it does seem that the E.D. rejection certainly was right for you since Vassar would not have made a great match. Still, some of my students would not always see it that way. Of course, some would, often those that have the benefit of hindsight, having been deferred or rejected and then finding the right school via early decision. But I think what you say does indeed come from looking back. Students often think that there is only one school for them, so when they are rejected early, it feels like there is nowhere else they will like as much. But students do change in the months between December and April, and when those acceptance letters come, they have the opportunity to explore those schools in a much deeper way. Not only are they now courted by the schools that accept them, knowing that these students are not locked into any particular school, but they have the chance to knock on professors doors, so to speak, and get to know the teachers and the classes in a way they never could before applying early. They get to spend more time on campus, hear from more students, maybe even enjoy an overnight visit. After all, it is possible to fall in love more than once in life! Thanks for your insight and perspective. Betsy F. Woolf, director, Woolf College Consulting.

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