Harvard v. Stanford (SC/R)EA? Quandry

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

Hello,

I know that you get quite a lot of questions like the one I’m asking, but I would like to get personal opinions. Now I have researched both of them thoroughly and definitely, Harvard is where I would love to go. However, I’m in a bit of dilemma because of the acceptance rates and some pros/cons that I have researched on.

Before I proceed further, my stats are:

34 ACT, 800 in Math L2 and Physics, Rank 1 in school with massive upward trend for all the years (had relatively low freshman grades), really good ECs (9 leadership positions (varsity sports team captain to school president)), 500+ hrs of volunteer work, I also run my own business (we are in a really early stage, but I managed to get some angel funding through family and friends). I’m sure that my teachers and additional recommenders will write me good recommendations and I hope that I can write good essays.

Pitfalls: Relatively low freshman grades (a B or two), no international level achievement, literally the worst demographic that you can get (international on top of that).
Strengths: ECs (not something that you see everyday), leadership positions, a few decent national level achievements, no FA?

–

Pros of applying to Harvard: get done with apps should I get accepted so that I can focus on the school leaving examinations, a huge advantage in applying early (as visible from the acceptance rates even after the recruited athletes, developmental cases, etc.)
Cons of applying to Harvard: A massive chance that I might get deferred because of lack of good freshman year grades and international awards.

Pros of applying to Stanford: A benefit with the non FA status, no need for 9th grade scores, I can get to know where I stand in the entire admissions process well ahead of the RD deadline.
Cons of applying to Stanford: miss out on the Harvard REA benefits.

So my question is, should I apply to Harvard or to Stanford early?

Thank you for your time.

2

As much as my post exhibits my enthusiasm for Harvard, Stanford is really close to that too. Obviously, given a choice between the two, I would choose Harvard, but I wouldn’t mind going to Stanford either (if at all I’m privileged enough to get in)

3

These are two very different schools. You should really look into what those differences are and then apply to the school that’s your true first choice. The only “advantage” applying to Stanford early would give you is that Stanford tries to give early applicants its final decisions (rather than deferring most applicants).

4

It sounds like you are leaning toward harvard. Might as well go with it

5

One advantage to Stanford, in my opinon, from the perspective of the applicant, is that they don’t defer a lot of applicants. Generally, their SCEA applicants are accepted or rejected. If you are in fact deferred you have a much better chance in the RD round, because Stanford has basically said yes to you but they want to see you compared to the rest of the RD applicants. A Harvard deferral it seems to me is much more nebulous.

Having said that, I agree with planner that you should really try to decide which of the two schools you prefer because you want to make sure you use your SCEA application at the place you want to go if for no other reason than you are likely to submit a better and therefore winning application.

I think you have the chops to get a hard look at both places.

6

@Planner Thank you for your valuable inputs. I’ll do more research on the colleges.

@andyis I am leaning towards Harvard, but each and every time that I feel I have arrived at a decision, I start thinking about the “what-ifs”. I guess that I’ll need to get a better at decision making :-p Thank you for your inputs.

7

How do you say you researched thoroughly and then limit this to rank, high school “leadership,” a new biz funded by family, and just a count of vol hours? Not to mention, thinking you need international awards. Or that full pay is an edge for these 2 top need blind schools. After checking your stats, their review will be qualitative. It helps to understand what both really look for. Then, how kids “show” that.

8

@lookingforward Those were my stats. I did not go in depth with my ECs because I want my identity to remain a secret (which will be a problem if I elaborate on two of my ECs). Researched thoroughly in the sense that I have researched on the colleges, the environment and the opportunities that each of them offer.

As for your question, I’ll take a stab at it (although I’m not entirely sure what you mean to say).

I feel that most of my qualities and activities resonate with what Stanford students embody. I show a lot of initiative, I am entrepreneurial and I always follow unconventional routes to success. Moreover, I have an intense schedule right now with all of my commitments, but I always remain cool when I meet someone. If you were to meet me in real life, you would think of me as a slacker who doesn’t pay much attention to school/activities and always want to do fun stuff with friends (duck syndrome? :-p )

On the other hand, I value relationships a lot, network aggressively and always yearn to achieve leadership in whatever I set out to do. I work really hard to achieve success.

I believe that all my activities show these traits. As for the international awards, I was under the impression that people need international awards to get in and anybody who does get in without that is really really lucky at the very least (True for international countries like India, China, etc. Or, at least that is what I have heard from my friends)

9

@lookingforward I think that you made one mistake. Stanford is not need-blind for international students, while Harvard is. My FA status won’t help me at Harvard, but I’m pretty sure that it will have an impact on my decisions at Stanford

10

Ok, good catch about intls, my mistake, sorry. But based on what S has said, it’s not “entrepreneurs,” not that a kid started a business. The original comment was “entrepreneurial about their educations.” I now see a little more here. Your challenge is to work the app in the right ways. Remember “show, not just tell.” I can’t suggest one school over the other because the actual intellectual climates have shades of their own. Each will be competitive for actual students in their own ways- and many of us will have different views. Best wishes.

11

@lookingforward Thank you for the wishes. I’ll do my best to present myself in the most appropriate way possible.

12

@anotherdude (and anyone else comparing Stanford and Harvard), you might want to read this late 2014 article from the Harvard Crimson, “Seeing Red: Stanford v. Harvard: A Cross-Country Battle over American Higher Education”:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/30/stanford-vs-harvard/

Also, searching for posts on College Confidential that compare Harvard with other top schools, particularly Yale, would be worthwhile.