MIT EA or Cornell ED?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m an Asian female studying outside the US.

Stats:
SAT 1: 1540 (790 math, 750 eng, 20 essay)
SAT 2: 800s on math level 2, physics, chemistry
APs: (self-studied, as my school doesn’t offer AP courses) 5s on Calc BC, Physics C, Chemistry, Macro and Microeconomics
Top 10% in my grade (my school is one of the most competitive ones in my region)
My school offers IB but I chose the local curriculum (huge disadvantage?)

ECs:
founded a physics interest group
youtube channel (about physics, not many subscribers though)
secretary of two clubs
received training for IPHO but wasn’t qualified
research in local university (civil engineering)
awesomemath summer camp
volunteering (eg charity trip to bali)
varsity cross country vice captain
flute ABRSM grade 8

Awards: (probably the weakest part of my application)
STEM awards (mostly physics) in local olympiads and competitions

My intended major is Physics/ engineering. My counsellor suggested Cornell ED and said that I have a good shot at it. Although I think I should be happy with Cornell as my stats ain’t stellar, I just couldn’t deny that MIT, instead, has always been my dream school. I understand that my chance is really slim, but I just don’t want to sit in a Cornell lecture hall pondering how different my life might possibly be if I hadn’t limited my choices.

There are indeed a number of factors which make me believe my chance at MIT isn’t necessarily 0. I’m a US citizen, and it seems to make a difference as MIT has a quota on international students they admit. Also, being a female and a first generation university student might help a bit? Most importantly, I think my essays might be able to help me stand out from other Asian kids (lowly educated parents, as opposed to the asian parents stereotypes).

Many people encourage me to go for MIT. While I understand you won’t know what will happen unless you try, it just seems to be too risky when it comes to colleges. MIT’s EA doesn’t increase your chance of being accepted, and choosing that would mean I risk not getting into both. In this sense, Cornell ED seems to be a more realistic choice.

I’m really sorry for making it so lengthy :stuck_out_tongue: Any opinion/ advice? Thanks!

2

You are a very strong candidate, and MIT admission isn’t as obvious, as with many US colleges. If you’re risky, go for MIT, if not go for Cornell, which, in my opinion, isn’t as prestigious, but is more chill and enjoyable.

3

Hello,

Is it possible to go both since MIT EA is not restricted? Also to answer your question, if you think you would pick MIT over Cornell, you should choose MIT EA if would don’t want to have any potential regrets by Cornell’s binding.

4

You’re profile is surprisingly similar to mine!
I’m from India, got a 34 on my ACT, 800 on the 3 SAT Subjects. I got 5s in AP Calcs and both Physics C (self study), I’s 2nd at my school, and a year ago I chose a local curriculum over IB! I also love physics and spend a lot of time on it.
You’re ECs are stronger than mine though…
I am applying to engineering physics at Cornell and Aerospace at MIT.
Me and my parents spent about 4 hours discussing the same situation you are asking about. I went through Cornell’s ED policy many times and it never said anything about being restrictive (though it is binding). So you can apply both ED to Cornell and EA to MIT.
The only downside to this situation is if you were to get into both, then you are obliged to join Cornell, which is probably your second choice (MIT is my dream school too. I just love it). But the upside to this is that you have a higher chance of getting into Cornell.
I decided on applying early to both because the probability of me getting into both is infintesimally slim…

5

Cornell is famous for its engineering school, and you won’t regret going into any of the both.

6

@vrjmath if you apply to an EA unrestricted school and an ED school, you are not violating the rules of the EA unrestricted school, but you are violating the rules of the ED school so it cannot be done.

7

Brown is the only college I’ve ever seen with an ED policy that prevents students from applying EA elsewhere, and they abandoned that policy several years ago. You are obligated to attend the ED school if admitted, so it doesn’t impact their yield if an ED applicant is admitted early at another college.

Some colleges do not allow EA applicants to apply ED elsewhere, however, since that would impact their yields. Boston College, Notre Dame, and Georgetown do not allow EA applicants to apply ED elsewhere because they would lose many EA admits to the Ivies, Northwestern, Duke, JHU, etc.

It’s best for any applicant interested in early admissions to read the admissions websites carefully, since policies and deadlines vary.

8

@warblersrule We went to a panel earlier this year with representatives from Georgetown, Harvard, Duke, Stanford and Penn. The Georgetown rep explicitly stated that you cannot apply to Georgetown, which is EA Unrestricted, and also an ED or EA Restricted school. All of the other reps agreed.

9

@Ermolka, this is delusional. Nobody in the Engineering department at Cornell (faculty / undergrad / grad), no matter how happy they are, finds it to be a “chill and enjoyable” place or experience. Fair dues for owning it as an opinion, but this is so far from what I have seen on the ground that I think it would be helpful to tell us the basis for your opinion. Mine is based on direct experience with the department.

Um…possible, but unlikely. For a start, the “Asian Parent” stereotype is more that they are ‘education driven’ than ‘highly educated’, but more importantly, the essay is about you, not the fact that your parents are “lowly educated”.

As for being female helping, MIT slaps that down regularly. The admit rate is higher for women than men - but that reflects the difference in numbers applying, not in their comparative qualification. The only factor that MIT says is “very important” is Character / Personal Qualities- over stats, ECs, essay, recs, etc, which are all ranked “important”. 1st gen is less important again - just “considered” (same as ethnicity).

Of course, you might not even get into Cornell- it is not a safety for you, even ED. I wouldn’t count those chickens until they have hatched.

10

Georgetown EA is restricted – no ED elsewhere: https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/early-action . However, it is less restricted when EA at some other schools like Harvard or Stanford, where EA applicants are also restricted from applying EA to many other schools.

An applicant cannot apply EA to both Georgetown and Harvard or Stanford, but that is because of Harvard’s or Stanford’s restricted EA rules, not Georgetown’s rules.

11

IMO early application options (ED, EA) are not the best approach to assure good admission outcomes.
A better way is to focus on building a balanced reach-match-safety list.

If MIT is your strong first choice, then you may want to go ahead and apply EA to MIT. But do it because you want to get results early and thereby eliminate a few months of anxiety, not because this is likely to have very much impact on the decision. If you get bad news in December, take the opportunity to reassess your whole list, then maybe add a couple more applications to schools less selective than either MIT or the Ivies.

12

Very recently, BC (somewhat grudgingly) eliminated the restriction; students may now apply EA to BC and ED elsewhere.