Hi! DD is applying this month and we have been told BU is realistic for her but by no means a shoo-in, and BU has been on the top of her list for a long time. I’ve been following the admissions trend where BU has been getting harder and harder to get into each year. Her list she’s applying to is very light on safeties and honestly she hasn’t found a single safety she’d be thrilled to go to, and she has several reaches and very far reaches (including 2 Ivies) on her list. So her worst case scenario could be pretty disappointing if she’s just in at her two safeties and maybe one or two of her match schools and not BU which is the match she loves. So here’s the $64,000 question: if she truly loves BU, should she apply ED there and get whatever admissions edge that may give her? Her reason for not wanting to go ED is “what about Columbia or Penn?!” but I don’t think those are even in her ballpark. I just hate to see her hold out hope for these Ivies and by doing so, also not get into a very realistic school that has been her top choice for a long time. (Financial is not a big concern and wouldn’t be a major factor for decision-making here.)
Her stats – 33 ACT, 3.7 UW GPA (4.4 W - she takes IB and AP and the IB is weighted too); her APs are Lang (5), Bio (4), APUSH (4), APES (4), top 6-7% of her class (very large class of 800), I’d say “average” extracurriculars and essay; wants to major in global policy, poli sci or psych
Her schools – BU, Northeastern, UPenn, Columbia, Cal Berkeley, UCLA, USC, GW, American, Emory, safeties are Drexel and Temple
While your daughter is in the range for BU admission has become very “quirky”. They are trying to weed out those for whom the school is seen as a safety. Applying to BU ED would increase her chances of acceptance but it would result in her having “what if’s”. If she, and you, can deal with that then ED would make sense. If those Ivies are her real dream schools then applying to BU EA would be a better option. I assume that you both have visited campus.
Based on the CDS info for BU, they took 29 percent of the applicants from ED and 25 percent RD, so your chances are slightly better ED. I have a child looking at similar schools (next year) and I think I would encourage my child to go for BU, in your situation. We had kids from our school with incredible stats (we’re talking 1560 on the SATs and 4.5 unweighted GPAs from A pluses on a 4.0 scale) outright rejected from the Ivies. I think your dd is competitive for BU and if it’s been her dream school for a long time, make that clear to them and apply ED. Just my .02.
Thanks, guys. She has toured all schools on her list except Emory. We live in California and she doesn’t want to go to the UCs but I made her apply there. She wants to go OOS but I wanted her to have good school choices in state in case she changes her mind for some reason about going away from home. Thing is, she doesn’t talk incessantly about Penn or Columbia. She knows they’re “good schools” but the school she talks a LOT about and has for years is BU.
I would recommend BU ED as well, it sounds like it is truly her top choice. It is interesting to note however, that there does not seem to be a bump ED vs. RD at BU. The 30% ED acceptance rate (1229/4129) includes athletic recruits, legacies, prof kids, trustee recommended students, etc. Those groups likely total 190 students combined, which is all you need to subtract from admitted ED students to get the same 25% acceptance rate as RD. Regardless, if BU is her top choice (and I agree Columbia and Penn are unlikely admits), I would still encourage her to apply ED.
ED seem like a better and more practical choice. Maybe Ivies are there in her mind and the thought of being able to go there thrils her. But if BU is something that has been in her mind for long then it is a better choice but she should take time this week and think for herself will she be happy at BU. if so then go for ED otherwise reconsider the options.
Doesn’t BU offer ED2? http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/early-decision/ If so she can apply to a reach school ED and if it doesn’t work out she can apply to BU ED2. I concur that Columbia and Penn would be big reaches, but that way she would never have to wonder “what if”