<p>I have a 3.6 Unweighted while doing the full International Baccalaureate.
My SAT Score is a 2000 (680 Math, 630 Critical Reading, 690 Reading)
My SAT II Scores so far are a 710 in Math II and a 640 in Literature.
I am getting great Recs. I don’t get to see them, but all of the teachers really like me and I have had both of these teachers for all four years of high school so I know them very well.</p>
<p>Since I am on the lower spectrum of their applicants, should I try to apply Early Decision or Regular Decision?
Barnard is definitely my first choice and if I get in, I would definitely choose it over any school. I just don’t know if applying in the bigger pool would help or hurt or if I should apply Early Decision.</p>
<p>Apparently I should elaborate on my answer above. </p>
<p>If you need no financial aid and your parents are prepared to pay upwards of $50,000 per year, and you are accepted ED (with Barnard being absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, your #1 school to attend), then all is right with the world.</p>
<p>Here is what I believe to be the worst case scenario, though. And it’s one you must consider: say you are accepted ED and of course thrilled with this outcome. THEN your parents have to break it to you that they cannot afford to send you there. As a parent, that would be heart-breaking; not to mention how awful that would be for you!</p>
<p>You could apply ED and receive adequate financial assistance, if you need any. But that is a huge gamble.</p>
<p>You can get a very extensive discussion of this issue if you check other threads here…</p>
<p>I wouldn’t need to apply for any Financial Aid.</p>
<p>But my only concern is how I would stack up against the other applicants applying Early Decision. My SATS are average and I have a lot of ECs, but I don’t know if my GPA is good enough for that small of a pool.</p>
<p>Well, maybe in this case ED would be a good option for you. </p>
<p>I don’t really know if potential effect of the larger vs smaller applicant pool is something anyone here can address, really. I suppose it ultimately would depend upon who else is applying and of course we don’t know that. </p>
<p>I should think that there will be top-notch applicants (stats-wise) for both ED and RD. But in the smaller pool, you have a better chance of “standing out”, I should think.</p>
<p>“You could apply ED and receive adequate financial assistance, if you need any. But that is a huge gamble.”</p>
<p>The huge gamble is indeed the disappointment, the heartbreak, but anyone wanting to apply ED needing financial aid at any school should talk with the school’s financial aid office before applying, to understand how the process works at the school, and to know if there is a good chance of receiving adequate aid. But ED only at your number one dream school above all others! :)</p>
<p>If Barnard is definitely your first choice and you are not applying for financial aid, then there is no down side to applying ED – that is, you are not giving up anything in order to make a promise that you will attend. </p>
<p>I do think that it is a total myth that ED will help unhooked applicants with weak stats – I can not think of one good reason why an ad com would accept a weak applicant to fill a slot that they know is likely to be filled by stronger applicants down the line. If anything, the ad com should be particularly wary of committing early to weaker applicants in their pool, simply because with an acceptance they are giving up their ability to see midyear grades before making a decision. However, the ad com always has the ability to defer if they want more information. I think it unlikely that the ad com would outright reject any applicant if there is a realistic possibility that they might admit the student down the line with additional information in hand. </p>
<p>I don’t know how Barnard would view a 3.6 GPA in an IB program – they understand the challenges presented by IB. I’m sure they look at grades in the context of the school and classes taken. So I don’t really know where you would stand in their applicant pool in any case. Your SAT score is well within their midrange. </p>