Rice University is a medium-sized private research institution located in the heart of Houston, Texas – home to Beyonce, NASA, and the Texans. Rice is famous for their science and engineering programs, mostly because of their close connection and proximity to NASA, but also has world-class programs in the humanities, social sciences, and business.

Swarthmore is an excellent small liberal arts school that has become intensely competitive to gain admission to in recent years. The college wasn’t ever easy to get into — or, at least, not in the past half century. But the acceptance rate has plummet more recently and more students than ever are receiving disappointing news in the Early Decision round.

We recently had the honor of interviewing Evan Bailyn, the founder of the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) marketing genre. In addition to owning the most well-respected GEO agency in the US, he used to run a college admissions consulting business. Thus, we were very excited to get his take on how AI is changing the college application process.

Rejection nearly always stings, but getting an Early Decision rejection from a dream school is particularly frustrating. If you recently heard from Pomona that they don’t have a space for you, it is understandable if you feel turned upside down. You had a plan and being rejected wasn’t part of it. Now, you have to figure out what comes next.

If you recently received a rejection from Bowdoin in the Early Decision round, you aren’t alone. The ED acceptance rate for Bowdoin is quite low, and admissions is extremely competitive. That doesn’t make it hurt less, though. An ED rejection is always gutting, as a dream school rejection is, to put it bluntly, the rejection of a dream. But it isn’t the end of your college dreams. You can still get into an exceptional school. To pull that off, you need to figure out what to do next.

If you’ve recently received a rejection from Rice in the Early Decision round, we know that this wasn’t the plan. You picked Rice ED because you are in love with what they offer, and it felt possible. Not easy, probably, but possible. But now you have a rejection in your inbox, and you have to figure out what comes next.

Harvey Mudd College is a small, STEM-focused liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. The school is a part of the Claremont Colleges, which means it shares a campus and resources with Pomona, Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna – and you can take classes and join clubs at any of them! Harvey Mudd is also tiny. Microscopic, even. With approximately 900 undergrads, it’s the size of a medium Texas high school. And if you’re here, you’re considering applying ED2 to Harvey Mudd, and we’re here to help.

You had a plan. You would apply to Johns Hopkins Early Decision, get in, and be done with the college application process. Or, if you didn’t get in ED, you’d at least be deferred. A deferral is far from an acceptance, of course, bouncing you into the Regular Decision pool, but Johns Hopkins would still be in the mix. However, that isn’t what happened. Now you are grappling with a rejection ED and trying to figure out what comes next.

Pomona College is a small, highly selective liberal arts college nestled in Claremont, California. Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergrad colleges (Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd) that share resources, cross-registration, and community. It’s a true, super interdisciplinary, liberal arts college, and it’s definitely going to appeal to students who love learning for learning’s sake.

If you recently received a rejection decision from Carnegie Mellon in the Early Decision round, you probably don’t feel too great. It’s frustrating when plans don’t work out, and you almost certainly thought you’d at least have the gentle reassurance of a deferral. Instead, you’ve got a letter of rejection in one hand and the need for a plan in the other. If you feel frustrated or overwhelmed, that makes sense. Don’t let yourself get wrapped up in that feeling, though, because we can help.