MIT EA or Cornell ED??????

Applying to College
1

<p>I am trying to decide whether to apply to MIT EA and Cornell RD, or to apply to Cornell ED and have a better chance at getting into Cornell but also not having the opportunity to apply to MIT if accepted at Cornell ED. </p>

<p>I have spent hours reading through the student blogs on MIT's site and have fallen in love with the school: the vast research opportunities (UROPs), the collaborative and 'nerdy' environment, the hacks, the clubs, the eminent professors (many nobel laureates), the first semester pass/no record, the IAP, the facilities, the high level of work/pulling all-nighters (I like pressure... lol), etc. I have also watched some MIT Open Course Ware lectures and read through the requirements for various majors. After visiting both schools, I have to say I like MIT's location slightly better, but would be happy in Ithaca too. My main concern with Cornell is that the administration seems much less open to advising students (judging from the Cornell Engineering Handbook for 2013 compared to MIT's blogs) - students seem more on their own with less guidance. There also seems to be less opportunities for students to get research positions at Cornell, and I hear that the environment is much more competitive (is this true?). I like the Co-op program and the 1 extra year M.Eng. option at Cornell, but MIT seems far superior in terms of opportunities, education quality, and basically everything..... BUT MIT is much harder to get into and applying EA doesn't really give an advantage, while applying ED at Cornell would give me a real advantage but would prevent me from ever having the opportunity to go to MIT if I am accepted.
Here are my stats:
• Objective:
o SAT I (breakdown): CR-770 M-770 W-770 (total-2310)
o SAT II: Math II - 800, Chemistry - 800, World History - 800
o Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (4.81 weighted)
o Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5% (probably 1st)
o AP (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science A (5), US Government and Politics (5), Calculus AB (5), Chemistry (5), English Language and Composition (5), World History (5)
o Senior Year Course Load: Biology AP, AP Calculus BC, Differential Equations GT, AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism, AP Human Geography, French Language and Culture AP, AP English Literature
o Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none…
o Minor awards: AP scholar (predicted), Academic letter award, Varsity athlete award
• Subjective:
o Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years varsity tennis (captain 2 years, #1 player 3 years), 3 years Computer Programming Team (We placed 13th out of 30 in 2013 at the University of Maryland), 2 years Math team (on A team), 2 years NHS, 1 year NAHS, 2 year FHS, 4 years homecoming committee, 2 years MHS (involves tutoring), 2 years gaming/manga club, reading LOTS of science books (A Brief History of the World, The Disappearing Spoon, Guns, Germs, and Steel, etc.)
o Job/Work Experience: 2 years job at Papa John’s pizza (~15 hr/week)
o Volunteer/Community service: 2 years volunteer at library (2 hr/week), 1 year girl scouts
o Summer Activities: Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation program (counts as college credit - I received an A), 2 years JTT (USTA Junior Team Tennis – we qualified for the Sectional Championships)
• State: Maryland
• School Type: public (around 1400 students)
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: middle class?
• Intended major: definitely engineering (probably chemical, with a minor/focus in biomedical)</p>

<p>So, given my stats, what should I do??? I think I would be perfectly happy going to Cornell, but I still would prefer to go to MIT. I don't have any research experience and have not won any awards for math/science competitions, which makes me think that I would be an automatic reject at MIT. But I think I would be very likely to get into Cornell if I applied ED there. My fear is that if I applied EA to MIT, I would probably be rejected from there, and then could very likely be rejected RD at Cornell. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? What would you do?</p>

2

<p>Bump
…</p>

3

<p>So, your family income is around 50k?</p>

<p>Go EA at MIT, since you’re unsure. You will probably get in cornell RD.</p>

4

<p>Cornell is most likely going to be some form of a Match school whether low or high - I’m in no place to decide. I would apply R.D for Cornell and E.A at MIT as above poster said. </p>

<p>Great stats!</p>

5

<p>ED is only for a school which is your clear first choice, and where you can make your matriculation decision without comparing financial aid to that of any other school. You shouldn’t even be asking this question if Cornell is not your clear first choice or you are not reasonably sure (from its net price calculator) that Cornell’s net price for you is such that no other school would win over it even if the other school gave you a full ride.</p>

6

<p>I may not be of much help! But. When I visited the MIT campus, the students I talked to spoke highly of everything there. So I’m sure that it’s worth a shot!</p>

7

<p>@ucbalumnus
But the problem with the advice “don’t ever consider applying ED if a school is not your clear first choice” is that it does not take into account the fact that ED greatly raises one’s chances at some schools. There would be no point in me applying to MIT EA only to get automatically rejected and then have my chances drastically lowered at Cornell, which I think I would be happy to attend. I used Cornell’s financial aid calculator recently and my parents say that they could possibly afford it, but would have to take out loans…</p>

8

<p>Cornell is a high match, and you can most likely get in RD. I would EA MIT since you have great stats. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>If you think you have no chance at MIT, why apply there at all?</p>

<p>A school that you can “possibly afford, but would have to take out loans” would not be a good candidate for ED. Would you be comfortable deciding whether to matriculate without seeing what any other school’s financial aid offer is like? Would you regret attending an ED school at the very edge of affordability, with the largest loans you could possibly take out, but then thinking that you may have been admitted elsewhere with a much better financial aid package?</p>

10

<p>I used Cornell’s financial aid calculator recently and my parents say that they could possibly afford it, but would have to take out loans…</p>

<p>Who would have to take out loans? You? your parents? both of you? Who would pay the loans back? How much would YOU have to borrow?</p>

<p>You say that your parents are middle class, so how much did the NPC say that you’d have to pay? </p>

<p>No matter where you apply, be sure to apply to some financial safety schools that will give you large merit for your stats. Those apps need to go in early as well, because many schools have early deadllnes for scholarship consideration.</p>

11

<p>MIT EA, cornell is clearly not ur first choice, so dont ED it. ED is for people with a clear cut first choice, which u dont have</p>

12

<p>MIT EA, you have a good shot. Nothing is lacking in your application. You would easily get in during RD at Cornell.</p>

13

<p>I would venture to say that MIT is a match for you. I’m serious. I mean like in the 40-50% range. Apply EA to MIT. They do accept people like you. Interview, write great essays. Don’t sell yourself short, you are definitely in the ballpark. </p>

<p>I think Cornell is a match (>50%) even RD.</p>

14

<p>Like everyone else, I’d say MIT EA too haha. I’m not going into engineering, but if I were to pick the school that came to mind, it would be MIT. Look more into Cornell’s engineering to see if its opportunities and support is sufficient enough for what you want to do. But especially for a female with your stats, I think you have a really good chance for MIT!</p>

15

<p>Being middle class female and with your stats, I would go for MIT EA.</p>

16

<p>I get what you guys are saying, but there is so much uncertainty. It is still very temping to apply ED to Cornell, even though it’s mainly out of fear…
Also, my parents did the financial aid calculation again (more correctly, lol) and our EFC was lower (around $23,000), which my parents say they can just afford without taking out loans.</p>

17

<p>EXACTLY my dilemma. White middle class girl, slightly lower stats, love cornell but love MIT more. Pretty sure thing at cornell ED, but applying to MIT would mean I risk getting into neither.</p>

18

<p>You can apply MIT EA and Cornell ED at the same time and see what happens.</p>

19

<p>Say hi to David Sengeh.</p>

20

<p>While both schools are well known, a diploma from MIT is a golden ticket. It consistently places very high for “value of a diploma” (see: [What’s</a> Your College Degree Worth? - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)) - of course, most people graduating from MIT are engineers, while people graduating from Cornell have careers in all different disciplines.</p>

<p>Think about years from now: would you always have a regret about not applying ED at MIT? I’ll bet you would. MIT appears to be your first choice. You should apply there.</p>