Pacific Palisades - College Admission Counseling https://greatcollegeadvice.com Great College Advice Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:00:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/758df36141c47d1f8f375b9cc39a9095.png Pacific Palisades - College Admission Counseling https://greatcollegeadvice.com 32 32 College Acceptance Etiquette https://greatcollegeadvice.com/college-acceptance-etiquette/ Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:00:41 +0000 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/?p=7217 When it comes to college acceptances, there are rules you must follow.

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]]> College acceptances are like really cool party invitations.  And getting a bunch of acceptances is like having multiple party invites…. for the same day!
I heard a Pacific Palisades college counselor say there is an etiquette for college acceptances.  I would agree with that statement and encourage you to follow these rules:

1. First and foremost, you must RSVP, as in  “Yes, I’m coming!” – no later than May 1st.   Just like any party host, the college has to know what kinds of numbers to expect so that they can have enough food.

2. Don’t RSVP to more than one college. Just like when you were a kid, you can’t say yes to two birthday parties that are happening at the same time. That’s just bad form.

3. Tell your other invites (ie, other college acceptances), that you respectfully decline their invite. Of course you should be nice about it. Just in case you decide to transfer as a sophomore or junior. And always say thank you!

4. And finally, what to do about those pesky wait list invites? Those can be trickier.  After all, they are only inviting you if a bunch of other kids rsvp no. This is where you need to be honest with yourself. Do you really want to go to that party in the freezing cold of Maine? Or are you just waiting to see if they’ll send you an invite?  My advice: only hold onto the wait list for the colleges at which you would definitely attend. Otherwise, respectfully decline those as well.

Good luck. I hope you enjoy the party!

Juliet Giglio
Educational Consultant in Los Angeles

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]]> The Countdown to Early Decision College Acceptances https://greatcollegeadvice.com/the-countdown-to-early-decision-college-acceptances/ Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:53:02 +0000 https://greatcollegeadvice.com/?p=6635 Any day now, students will begin to learn if they've gotten accepted early decision or early action to the college of their choice. It's an exciting and nerve wracking time as students and parents wait to see what the colleges decide.

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]]> When I ask my high school senior what day it is, she doesn’t say Friday or December 3rd, no, to her the answer is “12 days.” Her friend even modifies that to 12 days, 16 hours.
What is this strange code?
It’s the number of days until my daughter and all the other early applicants like her find out if they’ve been accepted Early Decision to their first choice college. Early Decision, or ED as it’s more commonly known, refers to when college applicants apply early, typically by November 1st or November 15th. When you apply early, you get a speedy response from the colleges, usually by December 15th.
I’ve also heard ED referred to as “one and done!” Meaning, apply to one college and if you’re lucky, you’ll be done! While there is a perceived advantage to applying early as the admit rate is typically higher in the ED pool as opposed to the regular pool, college admissions officers will say their ED pool of applicants is usually academically stronger and often includes recruited athletes.
A downside to ED is that it’s binding. Meaning if you get in, you have to go – which doesn’t sound like such a bad idea if it’s the Ivy League school for which you’ve had a t-shirt in every size as you’ve grown up.  However, if you’re looking for financial aid, you’ll lose that ability to compare packages amongst all your accepted schools.
Early Action or EA is another way for students to apply early to college and the benefit is that EA is not binding. EA does seem to be the best of both worlds as students can find out by December 15th if they’ve been accepted but they can also wait to hear from other colleges. However many highly selective colleges only offer ED.  And then there’s Harvard, which has no early decision application opportunities.
The vast majority of students won’t get into college via Early Decision or Early Action, and for that reason, they should be ready to immediately jump back into the application process. Some students have already submitted applications to other colleges, knowing that if they get accepted, they simply withdraw their application.
But for most students, a rejection from ED or EA means it’s back to the drawing board. Back in the dark ages before the electronic Common Application form, applying to a second or third or fourth… college wasn’t as easy as it is today. Now, students already have most of their application uploaded. The only extra work is when a college has a supplemental essay such as the very original, why do you want to go our school?
News flash! My daughter just checked her college portal and discovered that the school of her dreams will be notifying everyone of their possible acceptances earlier than the original December 15th date. Now she’s going to find out on December 10th at 4pm PST. Wow- her countdown just shrunk to 7 days, five hours, 35 minutes and ten seconds. But who’s counting?!
Juliet Giglio
Educational Consultant in California

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