Application Schedule

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Please note that I have posted this on the College Admissions forum as well, but I only got a couple opinions so I would like to expand the discussion to people on this forum as well.</p>

<p>I am set on my overall list of colleges:</p>

<p>MIT
Stanford
Princeton
Northwestern
Caltech</p>

<p>Wash U
Cornell
Berkeley
Rice
Carnegie Mellon
Tufts
Michigan</p>

<p>Case Western
Northeastern</p>

<p>(Schools sorted into blocks based on Naviance, but in no particular order within blocks)</p>

<p>I will not go into my stats here, but I assure you that I am a competitive applicant for all of these schools, even the ones like MIT and Stanford.</p>

<p>I would prefer not to actually apply to all of these schools, because that would probably be over $1000 just for app fees, test scores, etc. Writing essays won't be a big problem for me. In fact, I have already written the common app and supplements for all but two schools on my list. My preferred school to attend would probably be Princeton or Stanford.</p>

<p>So far, I am entertaining two options (suggestions for other options are welcome):
(1) Apply EA to all the schools that I can (which are MIT, Caltech, Michigan), but not Case and Northeastern because they are my safeties, and I'll hold off until RD to see if I need them.</p>

<p>(2) Apply to Princeton/Stanford REA, along with Michigan EA because it's public.</p>

<p>FYI: You should probably know that my school hasn't had a Stanford admit in 8+ years, despite several admits per year to Ivies and other elite colleges.</p>

<p>Since I would prefer to attend Princeton or Stanford, I'm leaning towards (2). That way if I get into Princeton/Stanford REA, I could just apply to the other for RD and be done with applications, plus maybe some colleges where I would be competitive for merit scholarships. However, (1) is also appealing because I would get two chances at getting into a high reach school, and if I get one, I would just apply to Princeton and Stanford RD (plus schools for merit).</p>

<p>Any suggestions on what I should do?</p>

2

<p>wait, do you have to pay money to send each test score to each college you apply to (assuming you didnt send it using your 4 freebies from the collegeboard)???</p>

<p>Or do you just list them on the Common App and only send them to the college you decide to attend (after being admitted)?</p>

3

<p>Most colleges ask you to send official score reports along with your application (subject to a fee paid to College Board), but there are some that just ask you to self-report scores and you only have to send an official report if you enroll.</p>

4

<p>It really depends on where you’re applying. But for now, can we get back to my original question?</p>

5

<p>IMO if you prefer Princeton/Stanford above all others, I’d apply EA the schools that is your top choice as well as UM if that is allowed (I think UM has some kind of modified rolling admissions so it should be OK).</p>

6

<p>Apply to Berkeley first, because their RD deadline is November 30, before you’d hear back from any EA schools.</p>

<p>Then, apply to whichever of Stanford or Princeton you’d prefer, and Michigan, EA. If all else is equal, Stanford says they’ll get EA results released a few days before Princeton says they will. It seems to be the case that you’d take a SP admission offer over any other school, so you might as well see if you can save a boatload of application fees.</p>

<p>Be prepared to send out most of your applications in late December. Most of the applicants to SP believe they are qualified and competitive, and very few of them get offers. Unless you’re being recruited by Stanford coaches for the football or basketball team, the odds are against you.</p>

<p>Clearly, if you get an offer from Michigan, you don’t need the safeties. So I guess the real question is, if you don’t get an EA admission from S/P(Mi), which schools do you apply to next? My guess is that you’re planning to major in the sciences, so I’d suggest giving priority to Caltech, MIT, Berkeley; but you’ll basically be hitting the entire list after Xmas if you don’t find an EA offer under the tree.</p>

7

<p>I have thought about the different scenarios, and it seems like if I go with REA Princeton/Stanford and EA UMich, I would apply to 3 or 4 for RD (if I get into Princeton/Stanford). If I go EA for MIT, Caltech, UMich, and Case, I would apply to 5 more RD (if I get into either MIT or Caltech). At this point, I should also net that I’m not overly keen on attending Caltech. So I have a dilemma here- should I go with the higher percentage of getting into a reach, or fewer RD schools if I get into a reach early?</p>

8

<p>I’m having the same debate, although some of my schools are different.</p>

<p>If Princeton and Stanford are your top choices, apply EA to the one that is your favorite. Then apply to UCB and UMich.</p>