I wouldn’t bother with ED. You should get in almost any school you apply to, so I don’t see a good reason for you to commit first by applying ED unless you really like the school and will go there no matter what. Some of the safeties may not accept you because they will know you are using them as a safety, but that won’t matter.
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it doesn’t make sense to apply to all Ivies just because they are Ivies: they are all really different. Make sure to get to know the schools before applying.
Have you considered Olin? Olin is a small, personalized, project-based engineering school that is as selective as MIT, or it was when we looked at it several years ago. In Needham MA.
Tufts is another possibility.
I understand you want a “unique major” but that may limit your choices. You might be better off entering in a more open-ended way to start.
So the real question is: do you want a school of engineering or a school of arts and sciences? For CS. economics, math and so on you would not be in the engineering school.
You mentioned finance. Does that mean you would want a business major? You can major in anything at an Ivy type school and get into consulting or finance, and many major in economics.
I think you have some very basic, foundational choices to make in terms of what you want to study and where.
If you want to go to, say, Harvard or Princeton, you could apply and enter as undecided if those schools are what you really want. You don’t declare a major (concentration) until end of sophomore year.
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If you do wind up choosing to apply to Tufts, be aware of “Tufts syndrome”. This is when a second tier school rejects a highly qualified applicant because they are trying to protect their “yield” stats, meaning the proportion of accepted students who choose to attend. So if you do wind up applying to Tufts, you need to show them a lot of interest in their school - visits (hopefully they are still doing virtual).emails. etc. Lots of contact with them, in which you enthusiastically tell them how much you LOVE the school, and that they are your first choice, if accepted (regular decision, of course). It’s a game, but if you want an acceptance from them, you have to play it.
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Ok, thank you. I appreciate you writing those out for me, I’ll look into them.
Barring any disciplinary problems or issues raised in the letters of recc, I think you’ll get acceptances at just about every school you apply to. If your parents are weighing financial aid, you might consider only applying in the RD round. You’ll probably get several offers from private colleges who will offer merit based aid. You might also consider applying for some of the well known full ride merit scholarships (Vanderbilt, USC, Duke-UNC, etc)
But if you’re focused on prestige, then pick one of the colleges above and then apply in the early round. I’d be shocked if you didn’t get accepted.
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You have an outstanding background which is competitive with the best students out there and you should be very proud. Since you are likely to be a very, very strong candidate at every school you have listed, you may want to concentrate on the ones that are the best fit and where you believe you will make the most impact. Save some of your time and effort instead of blanketing all the top 20s because, in my view, you aren’t going to need to do that to be accepted to a very top school. To me, the obvious outlier is Dartmouth - I don’t quite see it given your academic interests. I wish you the best of luck and will look forward to hearing where you eventually land.
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There is no reason not to EA at a couple or more schools (check the policies). To me, the obvious ones are Michigan and an REA school of your choice.
Alternatively, Michigan, MIT, UChicago if all three still make sense after you have review the suggestions on this thread.
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@hebegebe: I hear what you’re saying. I agree that throwing in a few EA applications probably won’t hurt.
But I’d like to share the experience from my son’s boarding school. The admissions counselors there are very well heeled and had great connections with the top colleges. There is a bit of horse-trading that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of this is opaque to the parents and students. For top students like OP, there will be a lot of interest. The college counselors could (unintentionally) tip the scales in one direction or another. A lot of this depends on subtle factors and cues given by the student and parents. Imagine a situation where OP gets accepted to some top schools like Chicago and MIT in EA round. This will certainly get back to some of the colleges during ED2/RD. This is not supposed to happen, but word gets around. Then some of the colleges get cold feet and deliver rejections to protect their yield.
This is less likely to happen in a public school setting where the counselors have little time for the jockeying. But it might. Thats why I suggested an RD only approach – especially if parents need financial aid.
But I see your point, and its a fair one.
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Ok that makes sense, I wasnt really planning on using ED for that same reason. Thanks!
I think I want a school that offers both the engineering and the arts/science schools. But I will definitely try to narrow the list to find better fits. Thanks!
Ok, thank you for the advice. I dont think I will apply to Tufts but I get what you are saying about demonstrated interest. I have been trying to do as much of that as possible for northwestern.
Ok sounds good. I am nowhere near qualifying for aid so I think Ill just select an REA to princeton/harvard/stanford. Thanks!
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Thank you for the kind words. I will try to trim down the list a bit, but for some colleges the essays are really quick and easy so Ill just apply for the fun of it. I will definitely put a-lot of effort into my favorites tho. I do agree that dartmouth doesn’t really fit, but I think that bc they aren’t as strong in stem subjects it will help me get in, and again the essays are fairly easy. I appreciate the advice!
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Yeah I was thinking an EA to U Mich and an REA to Princeton would be my best options.
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Actually, HYPSM reject many more high stats applicants like the OP than they accept. The key to acceptance at those schools, and a number of others on his list, are top grades and ECs PLUS a hook. Being a URM is a big hook and I agree he is likely to get into most/all of these schools as a result. He is, I agree, a stellar applicant, but many many unhooked stellar applicants are rejected every year.
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I think you’re underestimating how long your essays will take. When I applied to Dartmouth, I believe the supplements were around 300 words and it took me about five hours to write each one to a degree I was happy with. Essays really add up–I applied to eleven schools and I wrote about 20 different skeletons of essays, and wrote different specific things to fit each school’s prompt, values, and word count. The process takes a long time.
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My experience is that of a parent of children from a highly regarded public school, which sounds similar to that of the OP. At our local high school, it is common for kids who get into a HYPSM via EA to still submit RD apps to some of the others … and get accepted to some of them. Our high school counselors do not have time to advocate with the colleges on the students behalf.
But I do have a question re boarding schools. I heard that at some boarding schools, if a student gets into their first choice college via EA, that the boarding school will not submit additional transcripts for RD apps to preserve their relationship with the EA college that just admitted the student. In other words, the EA application effectively becomes ED. Have you heard of that?
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You have AMAZING stats! Congrats…you should do well and make it into top tier schools. It’s hard for anyone to predict which schools exactly. Start early on your essays and shoot for the stars!
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Wow I didnt really know about this. I was planning on an REA to princeton, tho Ill certainly look more into this. Thank you for letting me know, I appreciate the advice!
Nah I understand, thanks tho. The Why Dartmouth essay is 100 words, the other one you get to chose a topic so I can reuse another essay. I don’t really love Dartmouth, but if I can put 1 or two hours to just shooting my shot I feel it will be better than not applying at all. And if I end up not having time I just wont apply. I appreciate the advice!