Early Decision or not?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Im a junior and am going to apply to Santa Clara under mechanical engineering and i was wondering if i should spend more time getting higher test scores or apply early decision.
SAT: 1350 math: 720 English: 630(3rd sat taken)
Essay: 7 reading, 5 analysis, 6 writing or 18
GPA: 3.8 or 4.3 (weighted)
Subject Tests: Going to take Physics and Math II in June and hoping to score 700 in at least one of them
Extra curriculars: Internship at Teague Interprises for 2 years and paid this summer
Link to Teague Interprises: http://www.teague-ent.com/
Went to SES, a selective engineering camp at Santa Clara
Went to EPIC, a selective engineering camp at Cal Poly SLO
Going to COSMOS this summer, a selective STEM camp at UC Davis
Have a few projects i work on at home like homemade electric bike, electric skateboard, and wrist controlled/mounted flame thrower
Have an article in the student news paper of these projects i do for fun at home
2 Internships last summer at UC Davis 1 biology and 1 engineering (liked the engineering one more)

My test scores are at about the 25th percentile of admitted students and my GPA is on the upper half or something like that.
Santa Clara admissions info:
https://www.scu.edu/admission/undergraduate/choosing-scu/class-profile/

2

I also have a charity club where we feed the homeless. (Article in Davis Enterprise/Newspaper)

3

Have you considered trying the ACT?

And – only apply ED to a school if it is your clear #1 and if it is virtually guaranteed to be affordable. OR if you don’t have a favorite at all and you just want the best chance at a certain academic peer group. (But I think that second motive could turn sour if you developed a clear favorite and it turned out not to be the one you chose for ED…)

4

Im sure i want to go to santa clara because i have family in the area that are engineers which would give me some connections for internships and at the camp i enjoyed the campus and the engineering school i heard is also quite good. I scored a 27 on the ACT and found it more difficult time wise. I think a 1350 on SAT is better? Not 100% sure

5

And i can afford the tuition

6

Yes – 1350 is better than 27.

OK – sounds like you are cleared for takeoff… errr, ED.

But do not stop with your Santa Clara app, because it is not a slam dunk. Make sure you choose at least a safety, and if you have the time and money, find some reaches and/or matches you like too – just in case.