<p>i view myself as an averagely competitive applicant to Yale. as in im not definitely getting in, but theyre not gonna take one look and say hell no.
ive recently established Yale as my number one choice school, which is why im seriously considering applying SCEA. the problem i encounter is that the weakest part of my app, my GPA, will be higher if i apply RD. my freshman year (and high school classes i took in middle school) i slacked off and got a fair amount of B's that are tugging down my gpa. i have straight A's since sophomore year in the most rigorous schedule anyone has taken at my school.
would it be in my interest to apply SCEA? is there any real advantage?
THANKS</p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>“Applying Single-Choice Early Action does not increase the likelihood of being admitted to Yale. Historically, the rate of admission among early applicants has been higher than the overall admission rate because many of our strongest candidates, from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, apply early. We therefore offer this advice: Apply for Single-Choice Early Action if you want to receive a decision in mid-December and you are confident of the credentials you will be presenting to the admissions committee early in your senior year. An Early Action applicant must meet the same criteria for admission as an applicant in the regular pool. A thoughtful college search and a careful assessment of your readiness to present a strong application as early as November 1, are key. Candidates who need more time, for whatever reason, will be better served by our Regular Decision process.”</p>
<p>Also see: [Early</a> admit rate rises slightly | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/dec/15/early-admit-rate-rises-slightly/]Early”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/dec/15/early-admit-rate-rises-slightly/)</p>
<p>“Our applicants continue to be an exceptionally talented, highly diverse group of students,” Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeff Brenzel said in an e-mail. “As always, we only accepted students that we were certain we would also accept in the spring."</p>
<p>Given those statements and your own assessment of your credentials, you might want to consider applying early to a large group of non-binding schools, such as MIT, Georgetown, UChicago and your state school etc. In that way, your chances of having at least one acceptance come December 15th would be greater. And you could apply RD to Yale. Best of luck to you no matter what your decision.</p>
<p>The real advantage is solely to get it out of the way, I’m convinced. However, your plan of getting another semester of As in a rigorous senior 1st semester is one of the BEST reasons to apply RD.</p>