Hello everyone! I am deciding where to apply early to, between Brown ED and Yale SCEA. I have looked at the pros and cons of each and I truly can’t decide. I wanted to know your opinion based on my stats + what I value so I can make the best decision for me in this crazy gamble of college admissions.
My grades seem to be on a minor downward trend due to a really difficult class I’m taking, so I think going regular decision might give me slightly lower odds of admission to the most selective schools I’m applying to.
So first, I truly don’t know if my stats and extracurriculars are good enough for Yale and Brown to consider me, but based on my Reddit Chanceme post (attached at the end), I have a shot at getting in. However, I don’t know if Redditor responses are reliable considering that almost everyone who responded to my Chanceme are also in high school. Also, they’re also both Ivy League schools so there’s a good chance I will end up not getting into either.
In a way, I’m looking for “second opinions” on this difficult choice, and I’ve just compiled a list of for’s and against’s to consider.
Things that I value in my potential universities are (in order of importance): Great program for my major/concentration, great campus, great orchestra that I could audition for without being a music major.
For Yale:
Incredible orchestra (I absolutely love music and definitely will continue it in college)
Incredible campus that I’ve visited before and loved
Will probably give more generous aid than Brown
The community/“vibes” seem amazing
Smaller undergraduate student body
I don’t have to withdraw my applications if I get accepted (I want to see if there’s any other schools I get accepted to)
No loan
Against Yale:
Slightly lower chance of admission
I’m less familiar with this school
For Brown:
Open curriculum!
Beautiful campus (from my virtual tour)
Slightly higher chance of admission
I started loving Brown in sophomore year, so I’m more familiar with Brown
I like Providence more than New Haven
Against Brown:
I’ve never visited the campus in person
I’ve heard that it’s more difficult to get around and run errands at Brown
Might give less aid than Yale
I have to withdraw my applications if accepted
Thank you everyone who read thus far! I love both schools almost equally and that’s why I can’t decide, so thank you to everyone who takes the time to respond as well!
You should run the net price calculator for both schools. Brown uses 100 percent of home equity, so that can make a big difference to the financial aid package.
Brown ED is a high reach for almost all. If you were accepted ED at Brown, have you run the NPC with your family? Are they prepared to not be able to compare financial aid packages at other schools?
Remember, just because the student does not need to take out a loan does not mean a parent loan would not be needed to make up any difference based on what they decide your family should pay each year.
Sorry, if I missed if you posted you qualify for college covering 100% COA or you are full pay. I did not see that with your stats.
For either school, you would want 1500+ although I have heard of students being accepted with lower scores. You have other strengths that can compensate for a lower score…or you can just apply test optional and let your credentials speak for themselves.
From my daughter’s experience and through running the net price calculators, we found that Brown would have been significantly more expensive than Yale, Columbia, and just about any of the colleges to which she applied.
My sense is Brown ED applicants have a significant edge. Also, from what I understand, male applicants have a slight edge at Brown as well.
Just remember that both universities are high reaches, so you need a balanced list.
Much better shot at Brown ED, and as everyone has said, you really could benefit from higher test scores in my opinion.
My kid was accepted at Yale SCEA last year, and judging from fellow early admits, practically all of them had some particularly outstanding aspect to their application. Or a significant hook (URM, athlete, legacy, world-famous parents, etc.), sometimes multiple hooks. It is just hard to be encouraging for any unhooked candidate from a popular state.
Brown is a high reach, but binding early decision can be a significant boost. If you could see yourself at Brown, and after running the NPC think your family can afford it, I think I’d recommend that. Yale SCEA is a boost over RD, but not enormous for most unhooked candidates.
I think everyone else who responded was just concerned about tuition/test scores and this is the first response that I needed so thank you for that! Congrats to your kid! They must be so bright! Thank you for your thoughtful response, even if it kind of hurts I’m definitely really unhooked and come from a popular state, my extracurriculars also aren’t glowing. I will need to consider much more but I’m now leaning toward Brown.
If you are not 100% committed to Brown, SCREA Yale. Having a slightly lower chance of admission this early in the application season doesn’t matter and your pros for Yale seem more legitimate. As for the Yale cons, all of them are fixable, just research the school more and increase your SAT. Also — depending on a virtual tour to determine if a campus is beautiful is hard, all schools can look nice if they try.
I shipped a bicycle on the plane with me freshman year, and when it was stolen a few months later I didn’t bother to replace it. Look at a streetview map, strolling along Thayer in particular. That few blocks right at the edge of campus has pretty much everything one needs on a day-to-day basis over the course of the year: Brown Bookstore, restaurants, cinema (“college” fare – not first-run), clothing, groceries, post office, etc. A ten-minute walk into the smallish downtown starting from the middle of campus, or take a city bus from Thayer St through the bus tunnel to access things like a fairly large shopping mall on the far side of the downtown or the transportation center for bus/train travel to Boston, New York or DC. It’s pretty simple. The last thing I would want as a Brown undergrad is to saddled with a car, at least if living in the dorms (which most undergrads do for at least the first three years – residential campus).
ED Brown gives you more of a bump than SCEA Yale. Other than your test scores, you are in the (large) competitive group who will likely be decided through the strength of your LoR’s and essays. If you would be equally happy at both, and paying a little extra for Brown is not an issue, ED Brown. If there will always be a “what if”, since both schools are high reaches ED or SCEA, SCEA Yale.
BTW, the importance or weight of a “hook” is the same SCEA or RD for Yale. The reason why you see so many hooked applicants/admits in the early round, athletes, donors/famous people kids, legacies is that those groups tend to submit early, in the case of most athletes, it is a quid pro quo for recruiting support.
so thank you for that! Congrats to your kid! They must be so bright! Thank you for your thoughtful response, even if it kind of hurts