<p>Hi! I'm new to CC so I'm not totally familiar with all the lingo yet. Forgive me if I'm a bit rambly! </p>
<p>I'm a senior in September and currently deciding between schools to apply early to. One of my options is Stanford, which accepts Early Action, albeit Restrictive. My other choice is Brown, which is Early Decision. My only conundrum is that Stanford requires SAT/ACT, and only recommends taking SAT Subject Tests. Brown, on the other hand, requires SAT plus 2 Subject Tests. </p>
<p>I've taken the SAT twice, and if I superscore it I have a 2210. It's decent but I think I can do better, especially on the Math, on which I only scored a 690! Also I took SAT Chinese with Listening, and got a 790 which is respectable. I still want to take SAT Literature regardless of which school I apply to early. If I decide to apply to Stanford, I would want to first retake my SAT in October because I'm not required to take any SAT Subject tests, although they do recommend it. Then in early November I would take the Literature test and then update the score to my application. However, if I apply to Brown I would have to take the Lit test in October, and the SAT in November. </p>
<p>What do you wise and experienced members recommend? What order should I take my tests? Should I apply to Stanford or Brown? I really like both of them a lot, but I want to choose a school I would be more likely to get into. Also, even though Stanford says it doesn't require subject tests, do the Adcoms really care about it? </p>
<p>Thanks so much in advance! Sorry if it's too much info all at once!</p>
<p>Don’t ally to either one simply because you think it will increase your chances. Understand that ED is binding, if you get into Brown through ED you must attend (if it is not your top choice it is a terrible idea to apply ED). As for testing do it in the order that you feel comfortable with.
Just a suggestion also, if your language test was taken in a language where your family speaks it at home the 790 won’t be as highly regarded as if you took the test after simply studying the subject in school and you may want to consider taking two more subject tests instead of one.</p>
<p>There’s a huge difference between applying EA and ED. </p>
<p>First because of FA. If you need to compare FA packages, you should not apply anywhere ED.</p>
<p>Second, consider that unlike HYP, S does not defer many EA applicants to the RD round:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/decision_process/restrictive.html[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/decision_process/restrictive.html</a></p>
<p>So unless you are confident that you’re an outstanding candidate who will hold their own in a pool with many hooked applicants, you might want to hold off for RD.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far! </p>
<p>I know that ED is binding, but I really do love Brown and wouldn’t regret going. I’m just worried that if I take the SAT Literature test in November, if my score isn’t where I want it (I’ve heard it’s notoriously difficult), then it could really affect my chances and December is too late to take it. If I take it in October and don’t do well, I could retake it. So that’s my other big question: Which order should I take those two tests?</p>