I’m looking to apply to Boston university and have no doubt that if I get accepted I will attend that school. My SAT scores are just borderline what they’re looking for. I heard that early decision applicants have a higher percent acceptance rate, but is this only because ED is made up of the top tier of applicants? Would it be better for me to apply regular decision or ED to Boston university? Is ED made up of more competitive applicants?
@marianyc18 Look at it this way: ED gives you an extra shot. Even if you don’t get in ED, you’ll likely be deferred to the RD round, where you’ll get a second look along with everyone who didn’t apply ED. All you lose by applying to BU ED is the chance to apply ED to another school, and your chance at EA for some colleges.
If you’re absolutely sure you want to go to BU and your admissions counselor thinks you’re close enough that ED would give you a shot, by all means apply ED.
@NotVerySmart But would it be a safe option being that my SAT scores are not the strongest? Especially because the early applicants tend to be more competitive?
SAT composite: 1930
CR: 680
Math:570
Writing :680
Gpa:4.0
AP courses al four years
What are ECs, recs and essays looking like? If finances aren’t a burden, I’d apply ED.
Good luck!
@ptkid16
Freshman year: track, cheer
Sophomore: softball , track, soccer
Junior and senior year: national honor society, campus ministry
Would you say ED is beneficial for Boston university or would I be competing with legacy students athletes and much more academically competitive students?
Yes, you are competing against tougher students in theory but if it is your number one choice then I would definitely apply ED, showing that much interest in a school can really help your application.
Actually, the whole idea that ‘ED is more competitive’ depends on what school you’re applying to. I know that for some of the Ivy League schools, ED/EA is definitely more competitive because in addition to the oceans of over-qualified students, there are also many kids who apply as legacies, which give them a huge advantage. I’m not sure if the same is true about BU, maybe you should look at the percentages of kids who are legacies applying early decision.
@marianyc18 Except for your math score, that SAT is competitive-bumping up against the 75% mark for admitted students. The GPA (if it’s unweighted) is great-even if weighted, it’s good. If you’ve got 5 APs or so, course rigor should be fine. Get your math score up this fall and I like your chances at BU a lot.
Unless there’s another school where you’d be willing to apply ED (or SCEA), knowing that by getting in somewhere else ED you would have to attend even if accepted at BU, there’s no harm in applying ED to BU. At worst, you have the ED round when you’ll have a slight advantage over RD applicants because applying ED shows you really want to go to BU, you still don’t get in, and then your application heads to the regular decision round anyway. At best, you get in ED.
There is absolutely no penalty associated with applying ED. Maybe the pool is a little more competitive, but applying ED does nothing to reduce your chances of getting in RD. It’s like flipping a coin, where heads is an acceptance and tails is a rejection/deferral (not that I’m saying your chances are 50%). Two flips are more likely to yield the result you want than one, even if the first flip is with a weird misshapen coin that’s likely to land tails.