<p>Weird two choices i Know but I'm fighting over which to choose. I know I have a slight shot at either ED, but money also matters. Here are the stats.</p>
<p>Which would you choose?</p>
<p>Want a IR/ government/political science major and want the ability to do good internships</p>
<p>Rank:11/280
GPA W:4.3
SATs: CR 650 M660 W720
AP's: US AP 5, English Language 5
NO SATII's yet
Most rigorous courseload available at my public high school I can find
Great relationships with teachers writing recommendations</p>
<p>Captain of XC team two years
Secretary general of Model UN two years
7 best delegate awards for model UN
Key club President 11th and 12th grade
Lots of community service, mentoring
Key club Treasurer 10th grade
NHS president
Theatre club VP
3 speaking parts
3 outstanding awards
Brown book award
Treasurer of class of 2009
-2 leadership awards from principal
-2 distinguished service awards
-Started my own business</p>
<p>depends on what you want. large or small. i might err on applying ed to bowdoin. it's possible to transfer to cornell if you want a larger school, but near impossible to transfer to bowdoin (or many top LACs, for that matter) if you want a smaller environment.</p>
<p>This is actually an interesting dilemma you're in as both schools are more similar than people would think. Active student body, great food, relatively isolated locations, et al. The only glaring major difference is size. I have an inclination to say Bowdoin because it's such a great school but not many people know about it, although both schools will serve you quite well. I am currently with Morgan Stanley in investment banking and we have one Bowdoin student and zero Cornell students. Probably an anomaly, but goes to show you that Bowdoin certainly will not hold you back for internship recruiting for finance (if you ever end up going this route). Best of luck!</p>
<p>If Bowdoin is a good "fit", I would recommend you apply there ED. Your SAT score seems to be your only "weakness". I put it in quotes because your SAT score is fine, but by Ivy standards, it is a little low. Your GPA, AP results, class rank etc... suggest that you are a top student. Bowdoin does not require SAT results and given that all your other credentials are rock solid, your chances with Bowdoin are greater than your chances with Cornell.</p>
<p>The OP is from Massachusetts...I think. As such, I don't think his state of residence will help (or hurt) his chances.</p>
<p>Timxc126, Bowdoin is one of the top 10 LACs in the nation. Cornell is one of the top 10 research universities in the nation. As such, those schools are tough. Your stats are solid by their standards, as are your chances with those schools. But by solid, I mean you are no weaker or stronger than the typical student. Your odds of getting in are decent, relatively speaking, which means they are both reaches, but realistic reaches.</p>
Don't apply ED then unless you talk to both FA offices and try to see what type of aid you are most likely to get. You do not want to be in a situation where you have to attend one of these schools while you cannot afford to. You have a shot to get into both places RD. If you get into them RD then you can try to leverage for more aid. If you get into one ED you are virtually stuck.</p>
<p>Having said that, if you really couldn't care less which one you end up at, apply EDI at Cornell and EDII at Bowdoin. That should maximize your chances at being accepted at one of them.</p>
<p>Two great schools IMO; indeed, two of my favorites. I agree with Alexandre that either is possible but both must be considered "reaches." Also agre with Venkat that if financial aid is important, you should probably avoid ED even though statistically it may slightly increase your chances of admission. </p>
<p>Size-wise they're not as different as they appear on paper: Cornell's College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) enrolls about 4000 students total, making it actually one of the smallest of the Ivy arts & science colleges despite the size of the overall University. Bowdoin at about 1700 students is smaller to be sure, but the difference is much less than most people suppose. </p>
<p>Personally I'd be more inclined toward Bowdoin because I'm a sucker for the Maine coast and it actually feels less remote, about 30 min to Portland and two hours or less to Boston. When D & I visited Cornell they told us, "In Ithaca everything's either 10 minutes away or four hours away." I love the town of Ithaca, but when you're there, you're there; nothing else is convenient. </p>
<p>Bottom line, I'd say apply to both, visit both if you can, and if you're lucky enough to have the choice, go with the one that's the best fit for you. You can't go wrong with either school. Just be sure you include some "match" and "safety" schools in your search, too.</p>
<p>I know my sats are low but i feel that w/o standardized tests im almost giving them too little info to make a good decision on me.
I know they say you are not penalized for not sending sats but....</p>
<p>It's tricky. A lot of SAT-optional schools will just assume if you don't send SATs they must be bad; otherwise, why wouldn't you send them? But Bowdoin says they've been SAT-optional for 30 years, and they claim 20 to 25% of their entering class don't send SATs. I don't think the OP's SATs would necessarily kill his, especially since the writing number is strong and the rest of his stats are impressive. Still, it may read like a stronger file without SATs. Not sure. OP, how good is your XC? Any possibility you could talk to the XC coach and get him to give your application a nudge? I have no first-hand knowledge but just the other day someone told me Bowdoin is strong on XC.</p>
<p>yeah if you get the 700's submit otherwise don't. besides if you have a strong all-round package I wouldn't think they'd reject you on the basis of an SAT score. The whole point of beng optional is because they don't believe one standardised test makes or breaks you. Luckily their admissions is said to be "holistic" so make sure who you are comes out and why you would fit in. You're already ED so everyone in your pool has Bowdoin as their first choice, there's no uncertainty like RD so you need to show why they should want you too.`</p>
<p>Yeah, I don't understand these SAT optional schools and the position they put candidates in. Make everyone submit SATs and then decide how much weight to put on them in admissions decisions; instead of pretending some students don't have low SATs, so the schools can have reported average SAT figures be higher than they otherwise would be. It seems intentionally misguided and devious to me.</p>