EA without any subject tests?

<p>Hi, I'm stressing about the Nov.1 EA deadline coming up, and I'm wondering if I should go ahead and apply early without any subject tests or if I should wait until regular decision when I have my november subject test scores available... My college counselor says I should just apply early because the worse that can happen is deferral to the regular decisions process but im not sure...</p>

<p>here are a few of my stats:</p>

<p>Japanese American from Hawaii
ACT: 32 (retaking it this week)
SAT: CR 710 M 720 W 690 (retook it in october, hopefully scores went up)
Rank: 1/139 ish? ( I go to a small all girl Catholic school, but many graduates get into Ivy schools.)
AP scores from junior year AP classes: score of 5 in all three: AP history of art, AP US history, AP Language & Comp
AP Scholar
Senior year AP classes: AP Calculus AB, AP Literature and Comp, AP Japanese, AP Economics
my school does not offer any AP science classes (God knows why)
GPA: 4.36 weighted
3.99 unweighted </p>

<p>NHS
Hospital volunteer (activities coordinator for nursing home residents) - over 150 hours
School newspaper (News Editor, photographer, reporter)
writes articles for state newspapers as well
Zonta Club President
Math club Vice President
Oahu Mathematics League
YWCA advisory board member (organized a scholarship program, selection committee co-chair, finance committee co-chair)
Take the Lead! at Mount Holyoke College (one of only 40 girls selected nationwide)
Student government- finance representative
American Mathematics competition School winner
Air Riflery (State Junior Olympics Bronze Medalist)
Smallbore Riflery
Pistol (State Junior Olympics Silver Medalist)
Part-time jobs - Subway, teacher's aide for summer preschool
University of Hawaii Summer Scholars Program- an A in Psychology 100
Aloha United Way and Sassy and G Magazine Essay Contest winner</p>

<p>and many other school award things... I pretty much get subject awards in everything (awarded to only the best student in the subject)</p>

<p>Do you think I have any chance at all? Would EA increase or reduce my chances?</p>

<p>stanford traditionally defers less students than other colleges do. I recommend you send the subject scores in january and apply then, i dont think ea gives much of a boost when compared to ED at other schools</p>

<p>You should only submit the best application you can assemble. And that means waiting to have SAT IIs in there.
Stanford rejects half of the early applicants, and you don't want to risk being one of them.</p>

<p>nngmm is correct - unlike most schools, Stanford outright denies a very high percentage of early apps. If you don't have the best app you can right now, don't apply early</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply!</p>

<p>When they say subject tests are "strongly recommended" does that mean it would be a disadvantage if I don't have them? Would they base a rejection decision on that factor?
I think the admit rate for EA was about 19% compared to 10% in regular decision... </p>

<p>and I was thinking that if I get rejected early action, that means I wouldn't have been admitted regular either, so it wouldn't hurt to apply early... </p>

<p>again, thanks for the advice. I'm just really scared that I'm going to screw up this whole college admissions process and I wanted to hear from people who would know more about it ><</p>

<p>I think 'strongly recommended' would mean that unless you are economically disadvantaged, you should have them. Yes, EA admiit rates are higher, but not if your application isn't strong - and without SAT IIs, you are not going to look strong in that pool.
And no, getting denied without SAT IIs in EA doesn't mean you will get denied with them in RD - that is a significant change to your application.</p>

<p>I am applying to Stanford through EA, and I just took my SAT I in oct (i didnt do well-- didnt get time to do few CR Qs and wrote majority of my essay in last 7 minutes) I just hope i didnt make careless mistakes on the math section and that will bring my overall over 2150. I am taking SAT IIs in Nov and im just hoping they will get to stanford in time. If you want to got here, go for it.</p>

<p>I regret not taking my SAT II sooner now.. but I guess you guys are all right - my application would look much better with subject test scores.</p>

<p>But for the time being, is there any other part of my application that you think might be lacking? Is there anything else I can possibly do to strengthen my application and chances for admission? </p>

<p>I will take any and all advice anybody can give me! Please give me your honest opinions. I truly appreciate it!</p>

<p>The rest of your stuff looks fine. Study for SAT IIs, get good scores, write good essays, and you'll be all set.</p>

<p>Will Nov scores be looked at for EA? b/c i know Yale says they will look at Nov SATs for their EA since their experience tells them that it will arrive ontime.</p>

<p>Yes, Yale says that although they cannot guarantee that the Nov scores will arrive on time, past experience suggests that they will...
Stanford, unfortunately, says that the latest acceptable test date is the october one. Would it be wise to risk the chances of november scores getting there on time?</p>

<p>no, it wouldn't. Remember that you can apply SCEA to only one school, so using it up on a school where you can't meet their stated deadline and so will not get evaluated anyway would be a waste, I think</p>

<p>Thanks again Ailey for the advice! ^^
I'm just a little confused... what did u mean when you said using it up on a school where you can't meet their deadline and will not get evaluated anyway would be a waste?
Do you mean, like, it would be a waste of money sending scores that won't be used?</p>

<p>shes saying that w/o the SAT IIs, your application will not be evaluated and you wasted a chance to apply for ED/EA at another university where you can get a boost in chance of getting in. But since its not required, Stanford will still look at your application and you can fax the unofficial report to them so it gets to them earlier</p>

<p>yes, that's what I meant. IHateS@T is correct, though, that it's not required, the main risk with going ahead now is that you may be denied rather than deferred since your app doesn't look as strong as it could. </p>

<p>So those are your risk parameters, you need to decide where to apply early, since Nov 1 is just around the corner.</p>

<p>Stanford's EA policy is pretty clear - EA don't really give you any higher chances. Just a lot more people applying regular brings down the rates. Stanford isn't like Harvard/Princeton on the deferral thing (Harvard deferred 80% of their early apps.... )They defer only 10% of early apps, the rest gets a flat reject.
If you do want to know your decision early then do it, otherwise don't..do ED elsewhere. You can also call the admissions office directly and ask them about your case, if you get to a nice person they'd usually give you a straightforward answer. Good luck!</p>

<p>applying early elsewhere is a possibility that I haven't considered, but its a great idea! Thanks for the clarifications and advice!</p>

<p>just saw my october SAT scores online!</p>

<p>CR 800 M 720 W 740 !! :D
I'm so surprised and excited and happy! I seriously hope it isn't a mistake ><</p>

<p>Would my new and improved scores change any of the advice you guys can give me? </p>

<p>Thanks so much for all the help!</p>

<p>I did not take the SAT IIs in October since I was trying to get fee waivers that did not come in until later (past the deadline)
Would that make a difference</p>

<p>let them know that in your app, if you're applying early. Otherwise, just take the nov tests</p>