<p>I've been thinking/stressing out a lot lately. I honestly have no idea if I should apply ED or not. </p>
<p>NYU is absolute number 1 choice, however there is one main factor that is drawing me towards Regular decision. First of all, I am taking SAT II's in october and, quite frankly, I'm not very optimistic about how well I can do. I'm taking Math and Biology - i'm pretty sure i can score decently on math but I'm looking at no more than a 550-600 in biology. So obviously if I apply regular decision I'll actually have time to prepare for the Bio test and possibly score well in November. </p>
<p>So what should I do? Apply ED and send in the sub-par bio grade or apply RD and possibly send in a better score? Does apply ED really give me that big of a leg-up?</p>
<p>To give you a little scope on my entire situation...I'm a pretty below-average applicant at NYU so I'm looking to optimize my chances by any menas possible.</p>
<p>GPA - 3.3/3.4 UW( HUGE upward grade trend from 10th to 11th)
SAT's - 2160(1430 M/V)</p>
<p>EC's
-I'm quite involved with music. I've been playing guitar for over 6 years now. I take lessons and I also teach kids around my neighborhood. I'm also being trained in classical Indian music(Carnatic)and I spend a lot of my free time composing/arranging my own songs.
-lessons in Capoeira(an Afro-Brazilian style of dance/martial-art)
-Job at Commerce Bank
-Part-time job at CVS/Pharmacy(25 hrs/week)
-Volunteer at the hospital(~120hrs)</p>
<p>Clubs/activities @ school-
Track and Field
Inter-scholastic Frisbee(co-founder of team)
International club
Robotics</p>
<p>Don't apply ED. Here're my reasons.</p>
<p>1) GPA: it's not great. In my opinion, there's no reason to apply ED unless your stats are all great. Since the strongest applicants tend to apply ED, you'll be overshadowed by them, which'll hurt your chances for admission.</p>
<p>2) SAT II score: under 600 is not good. Since you know you're unprepared, my advice is to not take it. If I'm not mistaken, colleges can see every SAT score you've ever received, and even though colleges generally consider your highest scores, having a low one on your record won't help. Either study harder, or don't take it. Maybe you could take another SAT II that day instead.</p>
<p>If I do decide to take them, is there any possible way for me to call up NYU and rush in my November SAT II scores? I know it's highly unlikely, but who knows.</p>
<p>Also, isn't it true that most ivy-league bound people, like whartonites that apply to Stern for example, are usually in the RD pool? So in that sense, wouldn't I be up against much higher competition in the RD pool as opposed to the ED pool? That's not to say the ED pool isn't very competetive, but I always figured the RD pool would consist of people applying to most of the upper tier schools.</p>
<p>But besides that, given my situation, do you truly think I have a better shot if I apply RD?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I don't know about the ED vs. RD pools, so I can't honestly say anything. However, it has been my impression that ED pools are generally stronger than RD pools, so while the acceptance rate may be higher in the ED pool, I feel like weaker applicants would be at a disadvantage in the ED pool. While Ivy League applicants may be in the RD pool, the RD pool is also much larger and more diverse than the ED one, so I feel like you'd have a better chance when compared to the whole spectrum as opposed to the top end. However, you may want to ask around - this is my personal opinion, and I do not work for the Admissions Office.</p>
<p>I was under the assumption that November scores were fine if you were applying RD. I got my best SAT I scores in November 2002, and they made it in on time for adcom considerations. Has that changed?</p>
<p>I just want to emphasize that I think you're a good candidate for NYU. Test scores and GPA are definitely NOT everything here. Essays do make a difference. That being said, higher test scores and GPAs never hurt a candidate. Study as hard as you can for your exams, and write a personal statement that shows off part of you that isn't readily available by reading your EC list or your transcript. Remember, you want to differentiate yourself from all the other strong applicants. :) Good luck.</p>
<p>okay =)</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the help shades_children</p>