<p>Hello! As the title suggests, I'm debating whether to apply to Dartmouth Early Decision or Yale Restricted Early Action.</p>
<p>I come from a high school that boasts about 2-3 acceptances to Dartmouth and Yale each, and I'm pretty sure I'm at least the top 10% in my school (we don't have rankings). My ACT is 35 composite, and I just retook the SAT, but at the moment it's 2290. My extracurriculars are pretty sparse, but everything I've done I've done for like my entire life.</p>
<p>First and foremost, I want to go to a school where I'll get a good education. I want a good community, one where I can get help easily and find friends without having to join the Greek system. I intend to study abroad at least once, probably twice.</p>
<p>Why Yale and Dartmouth out of all the schools in America?</p>
<p>Your stats are good enough to have a shot at either one, but they are still long shots. If you’re in doubt that you’re in the top 10% (let alone one of the top 1-5 students in your high school), and if your ECs are not only “pretty sparse” but the best you can claim is longevity for the ones you have, then ED may not provide enough of a lift at these schools. </p>
<p>Nothing in what you’ve said provides a good rationale for choosing ED at one not the other. Do you realize that ED will lock you into a financial aid offer (preventing you from waiting to compare an even better one that might arrive later)? If your reason to use the ED option is because you think it will boost your admission chances, then you might be better off exercising it at a school where your chances are a little more realistic.</p>
<p>D makes it much easier to study abroad, but students from Yale certainly do things abroad during the summers. D has a larger Greek scene, but one does not have to join a house to participate in that social scene. And of course there are other ways to be social. You would get a good education and can have a good community at either place. I regard Yale’s residential college system as its big plus in this regard, but D is known for its tight-knit community and alumni loyalty. </p>
<p>What do you like to do in your spare time? If you are outdoorsy, D has an obvious advantage, although you don’t have to be outdoorsy to enjoy it there. If your idea of fun is going into Manhattan on the weekend–and you can afford it–Yale is your better bet.</p>
<p>Let’s face it: although you sound like a viable candidate for both–depending significantly on those ECs–the statistical likelihood is that you would not get in to either one in the early round. If you are a legacy at either, then you must apply early to take advantage of it. </p>
<p>Bottom line: if you apply SCEA to Yale and get in, you can still apply to other schools if you wish. If you apply early to D and get in: that’s it.</p>