DONT APPLY TO YALE REA NONONONONONONONONO!!!
Haha sorry. They have a reputation for denying people REA while Princeton and Harvard do not. Same deal with Stanford, if you were considering REAing there as well. With your stats, EC’s, and ambition, I think you could get in to Princeton SCEA if you were serious about it.
BTW, your SAT is not low. I’ve seen people with 2100s get into the Big 3. You should be good.
Good luck 
Yes you can. Although if you decide to rank one of those 4, then I think you can only apply to state-schools for EA. You can apply to other Common App schools RD, along with the QB schools.
@codemachine
Oooh Wow! Thanks! That is definitely something for me to consider greatly, since I was leaning towards Princeton initially! Thank you!
@PartyNextDoor
Ok I see! So I guess Questbridge is a substitute for applying early through Common App? Thank you!!
I’m not exactly sure. You may have to submit the Common App as well, so QB might be a supplemental application instead of a substitute. You should check on their website though.
Also, Princeton’s SCEA acceptance rate was 20%, while Yale’s was 16% I believe. But, many of those in that pool are candidates for hooks (athletes, donors, famous people, etc.). I think they’re both equally difficult, so just apply to the school that you like more.
@PartyNextDoor
I see – thanks for the advice! Much appreciated!!!
@academicgirl, I am not suggesting you are “average”, but you want to take care not to appear that way.
I don’t under stand this: “Although I eventually want to go into STEM for a career, my entire application is based around politics/humanities/international relations/communications because I think that will make me more competitive.” If politics/humanities/IR/communications is not a true passion, don’t make it the focal point. It will most likely come across as contrived.
I think that you can easily combine your STEM interest with your other areas. Science policy is a very important area, and scientists with social science and “big picture” skills have an important role to play.
Can anyone tell me what to do to improve my app??
Actually, a combination stem+IR or stem + development is a great way to work in IR/development since those are fields “in need” in developing countries (either Peace Corps or through NGOs, in particular). You can build your application around that theme since you seem to combine interest and qualifications in both. Whether you do end up in the Peace Corps as an Informatics specialist is irrelevant at this point but if your interests are genuine, building a coherent narrative matters.
I would warn you against focusing on Harvard or Princeton over colleges like Williams or Pomona, because your odds remain higher at a LAC than at HYP. The kids who are selected for QB and only select HYP for the binding matches are often disappointed. On the other hand, it’s a good wake up call; if you don’t get in as part of QB match, your odds in the RD round are infinitesimal and you need to change your list and your strategy in the QB RD round.
There’s a special QB application that the colleges on the QB Partner list use, for other colleges you’ll need to use the CommonApp, which is essentially the same info as for QB.