Best way to choose a college for ED?

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve already completed the common app and decided what schools I’ll be applying to, but I’m unsure what to do for ED. I’ve visited lots of schools and while I’ve liked many of them, none have really stood out as “the one.” I personally think I’ll be happy enough wherever I go, I’ll make do with what I have like I always do.

My current list of schools includes Penn, Chicago, Rice, Vanderbilt, WashU, UVA, UMich, Yale, Case Western, MiamiU, UNC, GA Tech, and OSU. Thus I don’t know whether I should apply to Penn ED or Vanderbilt ED or not. Chiacgo offers ED2 (assuming I get rejected ED1 from somewhere else).

I just am unsure about the fit for each school, I’ve read about Penn that frats and binge-drinking and commonplace and that money is the motivation, and for Chicago that the students are very eggheaded. I don’t plan on drinking in college (family has died due to others driving while under the influence), and while I also believe money is very important, I don’t want to be surrounded by people that think that because I don’t think that would be a collaborative or happy environment. For Chicago, I don’t think I’m smart enough to fit in, despite my stats being at par with their 75th percentile. I watched videos about their students being interviewed and four said their favorite thing about Chicago was people, specifically talking about how the universe was created. Personally, I couldn’t care less how the universe was created, thus if such a large percentage of interviewed students (assuming the sample was unbiased) spend their free time doing that, I’m not sure how much I would enjoy Chicago.

I would like to apply ED somewhere, as without ED I don’t think I would get into Penn or Chicago (Ive read that Penns acceptance goes from 9% to 23% for RD versus ED, and that Chicago takes anywhere from 50-75 percent of its class from ED1 and ED2). If I’m not going to get in I’d really rather not apply to Chicago (save time not writing essays if they will be of no avail).

I believe I have a relatively good chance of getting into Vandy and WashU without ED (kids in my school with similar/lower stats have done it before), and I’m unsure of whether I’ll even apply to Rice (they have 4 supplemental essays and I would choose Vandy and WashU over Rice if accepted).

Thus, if I don’t use ED, that leaves me with the choices of only EA, or I could do SCEA at Yale. Ive read that Yale’s SCEA provides little-to-no boost in acceptance (as it is mainly for athletes and legacy), but the SC part of its SCEA more or less wouldn’t affect me. The only school (that’s a private school) listed that allows EA is UChicago, which as previously stated probably provides a small boost (due to so much of the class from EDs) and thus I feel EA versus RD is no real difference. I personally believe that I won’t get into Yale, with or without SCEA.

If I got accepted to all the schools listed, I would attend Yale first, then either Chicago or Vanderbilt, then Penn, then WashU, then Rice, then UVA, then UMich, then GA Tech, then UNC, then Case, then OSU, and finally Miami. But as previously stated, I have no “dream school,” I think I will be happy wherever I go, provided I fit in.

As for stats, I’m an average Ivy League applicant.
35 ACT Comp (1st try), 770 US History SAT Subject Test (1st try), 780 SAT Math SAT Subject Test (1st try)
4.2 GPA (<–Culmulative, my school updates GPA at the end of each year, my current GPA for senior year is 4.74, with unweighted from junior year being a 3.86, and unweighted from current senior year classes being a 3.95)
3rd in class, took most rigorous course load possible (AP classes)
4 Varsity letters across 4 sports, participated in research, leadership positions in clubs, unique local community services
Plan on BME, and either going to get a PhD or MD afterwards (exception is if I attend Chicago, I would major in their molecular biology degree and see where that takes me)

Apologies for the wall of text, but any thoughts on ED, whether I should use it or not and to where? Also, any information on any of the said schools would be greatly appreciated, specifically Chicago, Penn, Yale, and Vanderbilt.

2

That 23% includes legacy acceptances. At Penn legacy is a hook only for ED applicants. It may also include athletic recruits.

3

Vanderbilt has ED2 as well.

4

@TomSrOfBoston :
I’ve read that the ED round also includes recruited athletes.

@Aida :
I thought I put that in there, thanks for adding it to the thread.

I think I might do SCEA at Yale and then ED2 at Vandy. The only reason I don’t do ED at Vandy is to see whether I could get into Yale, Princeton, or Penn (which 2, if not 3, would have to be RD, thus I wouldn’t want to apply ED to Vandy if I could’ve gotten into Yale). I currently have ED1 at Chicago, I think I may change that. If I don’t do ED at Chicago then I won’t apply there at all. I read that Chicago got 55% of its class from ED1 and another 1/3 from ED2 and EA.

5

@TrapNumen A big number of Penn kids do not binge-drink and not all of them are motivated just by money. This is mainly a good number (but not all) of the Wharton people, but definitely not everyone on campus. That said Penn is quite practical/applied in its approach to education, not very heavy on abstract theory, and the student body is probably a more pre-professional than others.

Out of your choices Penn has the best BME program, but Yale has a good BME program too. Also in terms of biomedical research opportunities and infrastructure etc Penn is the strongest out of your top choices. Yale doesn’t give much of a bump SCEA but Penn gives a considerable bump for ED even after accounting for legacies and athletes, and Chicago gives big bump too for ED applicants now. I agree that if you do not apply Chicago early, then RD is beyond a crapshoot now (like 2%) acceptance rate.

I would personally do either Yale SCEA or Penn ED. Depends on how much extra risk you are willing to take. If you would really regret potentially not trying for Yale, then Yale SCEA might be the way to go. If you would be happy at Penn or Chicago and you wouldn’t terribly mind foregoing the option of applying to Yale, then doing ED in either would make sense. Maybe you can do Penn ED and Chicago ED2 if you donate get into Penn.

6

Which one(s) are your no-regret choices where you are willing to pre-commit and matriculate without being able to compare financial aid offers to those of other schools?

7

It has been verified that RD to UChicago was around 2% but that was UChicago’s first foray into ED. I imagine that they are more likely to go with what Penn and Vandy do by filling about 50% of the class ED this year as opposed to something higher last year. Since Yale is your first choice go with that, SCEA to Yale followed by ED2 to Vandy or UChicago. Then at least you know you tried to give Yale a shot.

8

Have you visited any of these schools?

9

Yes you should visit and don’t fall for the stereotypes of these schools, they will all have cohorts that are hard working, terribly smart and not really all that different from each other. Pretty sure your going to find Yale students discussing the “how the Universe was created” also.

10

You can ask for substance free housing wherever you go. You will find like minded people. As far as your list, you have so many reaches. I’m wondering if you have safeties that you love and would be happy to go to. If Miami doesn’t excite you then maybe you can find a more intellectually oriented safety like College of Wooster.

11

“I’ve read about Penn that frats and binge-drinking and commonplace and that money is the motivation, and for Chicago that the students are very eggheaded.” Gee, where did that come from? Make sure you have good sources and think through what you read. There’s really no large school that has only one sort of student. Believe us.

All you’ve given us is stats, major, and sports. And a bunch of admit percentages. I hope you know what the rest is, that these schools will look for. That determines chances as much as stats. And it should guide your own presentation in the app and supps.

Early apps are only an advantage to kids who present what the target wants. It doesn’t guarantee any boost. After athletes, legacies, and some other interests, they use a fine comb. Not a wider net. Early may be about an applicant being willing to commit, but the trick is to get them to commit to you. If you aren’t yet sure of your preferences, if you don’t think you’d get into Penn or Chicago RD, do you need to rethink your list?