Is SCEA Worth It For Me?

Hello all, I am currently a junior attending a competitive private school in FL with a graduating class of ~100 kids. I am interested primarily in biophysics due to its integrative nature, and secondarily in business. I feel that the academic opportunities and the overall culture at Princeton will help me pursue these things best. Although I am also interested in UPENN, Princeton is marginally my first choice, and I am wondering if it is worth forgoing for the admissions advantage at Penn ED.

ACT: 35 C 35 E 35 M 36 R 35 S 11 W SAT: 1560 C 770 R/W 790 M Sat II: Math II (790), Biology M (800), Chemistry (790) GPA 4.0 UW 4.77 W - Hopefully top 2 (School does not rank beyond that) AP: Sophomore - Biology (5), Euro (5) Junior - Precalc with AB (Weighted as AP but no exam), AP Chemistry (5), AP Latin(4), APUSH(5), AP CSA(4), AP Seminar(4) Summer - Calculus BC Senior - Multivariable Calc, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C E&M, AP Gov, AP MacroEcon, AP Research, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Stat

ECs:
Mu Alpha Theta - President, frequently top 5 in school in math contests. My faculty advisor loves the work I’ve done in improving the previously mismanaged club, including implementing a tutoring outreach program at a local impoverished middle school and including local elementary schools in Pi day.
Latin Honor Society - Junior treasurer, helped coordinate aspects of State Latin Forum entries.
E-Commerce Business - I have built a website that sells manufactured turtle charm bracelets and donates 10% of profits to my local Sea Turtle Conservatory. ~5k gross profit thus 500$ donation.
Research with a biology professor at a local tech college - I come twice a week and assist in data and sample analysis, with the potential to be a published contributor this year. Even if not published in time, I have a very defined role from which I can concretely describe my contributions to the project.
Speech & Debate - Junior treasurer, senior secretary. Placed 7th in a state tournament along with mentoring junior high competitors. I’ve to lead the club’s outreach in the school newspaper and news, expanding upperclassman membership by roughly 35%. ER Volunteering - 200+ Hours and selected as a team leader for training new volunteers. Founded School’s Launch X chapter.
NHS - Coordinated and managed a schoolwide AP Prep book drive.
SciOly - Senior president. Lead 2nd place regionally protein modeling (Of 87 entries). Academic Team - Junior & Senior captain. District champions Junior and Sophmore years. Awards: Selected as the top STEAM student in my class. Likely NMSF.Applicable AP Scholar distinctions. Scored gold on the National Latin Exam for 4 consecutive years (somewhat rare), 15th place at National Latin forum in grammar freshman year, 3rd in the state 9th and 10th grade. 4th nationally in Latin dramatic interpretation. Ethnicity: White Income Bracket: 200k+ Hooks: None :frowning: I would really appreciate some feedback, and I thank you for reading!

It’s a much smaller advantage, as you know, applying early to Princeton. A whole other thing than applying ED at Penn. Look at the differences in the latest early vs regular application numbers.

Bottom line , IMO, is that you have to decide whether you want to give it up on Princeton possibly. RD accept rates are very low. My kid only did ED because he knew he’d have no regrets. It was truly his first choice school. How you want to proceed is up to you.