@Mwfan1921 Thanks for your reply! I actually visited WashU and loved it (very vibrant and diverse). My school doesn’t submit UW GPA, but by my calculations it’d be a smidge lower than a 3.7. My weighted GPA is a 4.0 out of ~4.32
Also, I do have a longer list of schools, most of which I’m planning to EA. I just want to take advantage of the higher ED acceptance rates
Cornell’s early decision rate was 22.6% and since it’s a huge school recruited athletes are relatively smaller part of it. Wash U.s middle 50% ACT was 33-35 which means 25% of the class had perfect scores. Wash U. also has ED2… which many schools do not. If you don’t do well on subject tests (>750) you could eliminate cornell.
Vandy and NU both have lower acceptance rates than Cornell.
WashU does have the highest acceptance rate (both ED and overall) of this set of schools, but it will still be a reach, as it is for most applicants. Your unweighted GPA is on the low side for all these schools, the ACT well in range.
You need to demonstrate interest at WashU at a high level, beyond applying ED. NU also considers demonstrated interest, Vandy and Cornell not as much.
@homestuckinhel definitely apply to any early action publics in your state and possibly out of state EA public schools you can afford. some of which hopefully are matches. I have not found the stats for Wash U. ED2 vs ED1. but that is something to investigate because you could pick a different ED1 school , have wash u as ED2 . but I didn’t find the stats. Make sure affordability is established before you “strategize” about where to apply.
@anon145 For sure! Just trying to pick which to ED based on my profile. I’ve heard Wash U is very stats driven and I’m not sure to what extent that is true
It sounds to me that you are trying to find an ED school just because you think you need to ED somewhere. I don’t like ED unless you have a clear favorite. You clearly don’t (your starting pop was T-20). I don’t think you should ED.
@Eeyore123 I’d be more than happy to go to any of the schools I mentioned. It’s just a matter of picking one.
But what are you going to write in your “Why School X” essay. I thought I had the best chance ED?
It’s just as important to be happy to go to any of your match and highly likely schools.
You should spend relatively more time researching choosing match and highly likely schools because it’s most likely you will attend one of those.
Of course have your reach schools and pick the one you like the best to ED, but the odds of admission are relatively low at all four schools you have mentioned so far. You will not be able to parse out your relative odds of ED admission by school. Control what you can control…write good essays, get good grades first semester next year, and demonstrate interest at the schools where it is considered in the admission decision.
@Mwfan1921 I’d be more than happy to go to my match/safety schools as well! The reason I posted this question is that I have already decided on them. I could, however, use a second opinion on which school I should apply ED based on past trends. Thanks for your reply, though!
@Eeyore123 All the schools have different aspects that I like. In my “Why this School” essay I will write about what I observed when I visited and what I have learned in researching specific programs.
I think that Cornell is a high reach for you.
However, I think that you should ED to a school only if it is clearly your top choice. It sounds like Cornell is your top choice. This would suggest that it is the right school for you to ED to. ED might also be your only chance at Cornell for undergrad.
Then you need to focus on picking match and safety schools.
Also, $75,000 per year is a painful price for parents that make $200,000 per year before taxes. While your parents might be willing to find a way to make this work in the unlikely event that you do get accepted to Cornell, I would be inclined to take the cost of attendance into consideration in picking other schools to apply to.
Oddly enough, in your other thread regarding Cornell I was tempted to mention WUSTL as “vibrant, strong academics, friendly just-right size”.
I would pick one or the other to ED to, but consider both to be a high reach.
You should look into the admission results threads and look at the stats of those accepted/rejected in the ED round v. RD round for each school. This way you will have a better idea of where you stand for each school.
I would try WashU. Your academic stats are very similar to my son’s (just finished sophomore year). The subject scores are very similar too (790 Bio M, 780 USH, 800 Math 2). Exactly the same UW GPA, although he had a higher weighted. 2290 on old SAT which concords roughly to your ACT as well.
Although GPA is important, high enough standardized test scores may be favorable and you have them so far. Vanderbilt is another school similar in that they like high stat students.
You can either ED1 or ED2. Also WashU is a school that tracks demonstrated interest. Attending a college fair or visiting are 2 ways of demonstrating effort.
I might add BU and Rochester as targets as well as your academic stats line up very well with them. NYU possibly but they are not the greatest for merit/financial aid.
Case Western would be another school to consider as well.
If you really like Cornell, I suggest you ED there and RD WashU. Switch to ED2 WashU if there is a Cornell deferral to RD. Find 1 school to EA. That would be an ideal strategy to maximize your chances.
@Hamurtle Thanks so much for your advice- will definitely check out Case Western. Is there any reason you suggested applying to only 1 school EA? I was planning on applying EA to most of the schools that offered it.
“I just want to take advantage of the higher ED acceptance rates”
Just my personal opinion but I don’t think that ED to top colleges is much of a boost (if any) for the unhooked average excellent applicant when you factor in legacy, athletes, development cases, URM, special talent, children of faculty, etc. Maybe look at colleges that have a low percentage of Asian females? You also might want to get your grades up, get all A’s first semester of senior year.
Have you thought about Tufts? They also have a very high ED1 and ED2 rate. They are similar to the colleges that you mentioned.
My mistake-you can find multiple schools to EA if you wish.