Final Tips for Seniors, Part 2: Making Sense of Early Decisions

In the second part of our two-part season finale, Admissions Beat lays out the decisions that applicants will soon receive in response to early applications they submitted this fall — admit, decline, or defer — as well as various strategies they might consider employing in response. Whether you are a high school senior who applied under a binding program (such as early decision) or non-binding (early action) — or the parent of someone who did so — host Lee Coffin of Dartmouth runs through a series of scenarios, including those where financial aid could be a determining factor. Dean Coffin also shares plenty of “news you can use” for applicants considering applying in the upcoming, early decision II rounds at some colleges. And he and his guests provide words of reassurance for those who chose not to submit early applications. Joining Dean Coffin are two veteran counselors with high school and college experience: Sherri Geller, the co-director of college counseling at Gann Academy in Waltham, Mass., and a former admissions officer at Brandeis and Northeastern, and Ronnie McKnight, associate director of college counseling at Paideia School in Atlanta, and a former admissions officer at Emory and Presbyterian College in South Carolina.