I am a rising senior, and at this point, MIT and Stanford are my top choices. Ive only visited the former, but I’ve heavily researched both schools. I really love both schools’ cultures (different as they are,) and obviously their CS programs are top notch. The bottom line is, I can’t decide which one to apply to early, and I probably need to decide soon since MIT has an entirely separate app.
I’ve heard that MIT EA doesn’t really give you an advantage, since it’s not restrictive. Also, I don’t want to have to do two different applications in the fall, thus reducing the essay quality (MIT app and Common app.)
For those reasons, I’m ever so slightly leaning towards Stanford. But I’m conflicted, mainly because of this: Stanford rejects most early applicants, whereas MIT defers most. The reason this matters is that I am doing research this summer. If I manage to become a semifinalist in the Regeneron (formerly Intel) STS competition, that could be a major factor that sways my deferral at MIT (if it so happens) into an acceptance; additionally, after the EA period, I will be participating in USACO, aiming for gold division (which isn’t nearly as impressive as STS semis, but still could help.) Plus, Stanford RD would still be on the table. However, STS, and to an extent USACO, are both big “ifs.”
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Another note- results for the Siemens competition come out in time to update EA apps, so if I get semis in that, I could update either school.
Stanford SCEA might give you a slightly bigger bump than MIT EA, but Stanford is also just a tad more selective since they get so many apps (while MIT’s test scores are slightly higher among admits)… so in the end your chances will probably be about the same whether you try Stanford SCEA or MIT EA.
That being the case, if you consider them to be equal according to fit and cost variables, I would go with the app that is less restrictive.
If you prefer one, apply there, and if you get in, you’re totally done. If you have no preferences, I agree you should go for MIT since it’s less restrictive.
Thanks for the responses.
@prezbucky @usualhopeful I see what you’re saying with MIT’s app being less restrictive…the thing is, I’m not necessarily that interested in other non-restrictive EA schools (Caltech, UChicago, etc.) So if I apply early to MIT, it would probably only be to MIT, so that I could focus all of my effort on one application in the fall.
Also, if MIT values scores more than Stanford, I think MIT EA makes more sense for me, because relative to most top applicants, I think my test scores are stronger (2380 SAT, twelve AP 5s, five 800s, etc,) and my extracurriculars are slightly weaker (no awards in research or olympiads as of yet, but as I said hopefully I will have success in Siemens/STS come fall/winter.) But that could not necessarily be true; there are other traits that are often correlated with higher test scores (i.e. success in olympiads, research) that I don’t have. Still, I think I’m leaning a bit towards MIT now.
Sounds like you have a good plan. Even with your outstanding stats both a long shots without national level awards or hooks. Have you considered Cambridge or Caltech? Both are score and test oriented.
Also, if you may need to compare FA packages, I’d go with Stanford. I think Stanford’s FA is just as good as pretty much any other school, except for maaaybe HYP, and I think it’s better than MIT. So it’s more likely to be affordable.
I would recommend applying to Stanford early since at least there is a chance that they will spend more then usual 2 minutes on your application. There is no benefits to apply to MIT early if you don’t apply to other schools.
Why don’t you just apply to both regular decision, if you can’t choose? Especially if you want to show your STS competition results as part of your package.
@TooOld4School I researched Cambridge (and Oxford,) and honestly the UK system of education really doesn’t appeal to me. Also, neither are particularly well-ranked in computer science…plus tbh I don’t want to have to do another whole application, plus go to England for an interview :-/
As far as Caltech goes, yes, I’m interested, but I’m definitely more than a bit turned off by what I’ve heard about the Techer culture. Honestly, I want to have a social life…and iirc Caltech isn’t as well-known for CS in particular. Obviously it’s a good CS program, but I’m not nearly as interested as I am in MIT/Stanford/Berkeley.
@usualhopeful My parents can afford full tuition, so that won’t really be a consideration. I’d most likely get zero aid from either school.
@Ballerina016 I see your point…and I’m really not planning on applying early to UChicago or Caltech, so idk. I really don’t know at this point.
@julliet That’s kind of interesting. Maybe I could apply Princeton SCEA, as I visited and really liked it too. The thing is, STS is a big “if.” As in, since I’m doing a group project, I may not even be able to apply STS if we don’t find a way to divide up the work. Even then, as you know semis is really hard to get (the program I’m doing tends to have much better results with Siemens than STS.)
Thanks for the replies…I have to mull this all over for a few days.