<p>^Calgirl15, I have to disagree with you. I think EC’s are VERY important, and unique EC’s can help distinguish between applicants. Also, EC’s show your passion outside of academics.</p>
<p>I didn’t say ECs weren’t important - of course they are. However, I believe they aren’t as important as people think. Many applicants have similar ECs, and I’d be willing to bet that schools like Stanford literally receive thousands of applications from club and student council presidents, varsity team captains, and talented student musicians and artists every year. How do you show passion for something when you’re up against people who have probably earned more impressive extracurricular achievements? The essay is the place to do it, hence why I said I think the essay is more important. Of course, this is just my opinion.</p>
<p>It seems to me that no one has definitively answered if the same solid application has a better shot in ED or RD at Stanford. I’m not taking any more tests, and I’ve polished my essays for months.</p>
<p>PS – if my essays are as polished as they are going to get, and I have no more scores coming, and I decide to go ED, is it better to submit now or closer to Nov. 1?</p>
<p>RD is much easier to get into. And, I really don’t think it matters when you submit your application.</p>
<p>‘RD is much easier’??? * much * easier? why do they even have REA then? I’ll probably stick with REA i guess, but still… if it helps me, maybe I should do RD.</p>
<p>REA is obviously much quicker than RD, because you’re notified 46 days after the deadline of your acceptance or rejection. Many of the top kids in the country apply REA to Stanford because they want to know quickly if they have been accepted or not. However, during RD it’s not as competitive as REA. Therefore, I am applying RD. I just changed my mind in the past 24 hours, and I’m just going to make sure my essays are perfect.</p>
<p>StanfordCS – this makes no sense to me. Imagine two groups, S and H, with equivalent applications. Group S applies REA to Stanford, clearly indicating Stanford as their top choice. Group H applies early to Harvard, and are all turned down. All of group H then apply RD to Stanford. You’re saying Stanford will take more of group H than group S. That would seem … not too bright of Stanford.</p>
<p>No, that’s not what I’m saying. Let me use your example. So, Harvard reinstated SCEA this year along with Princeton. Now, what I’m trying to say is Stanford would defer many applicants in Group S to the RD round. Stanford would do that because they have no idea how good the Group H applicants are until Stanford receives their applications during RD.</p>
<p>^way too much over-analyzation. If Stanford is your first choice, apply REA. As simple as that. Trying to “game” the system to such a degree is not going to make a difference.</p>
<p>EDIT: Well, apply REA is you’re ready! Forgot that distinction!</p>
<p>^ Everybody attempts to “game” the system. In past years, many applicants applied REA to Stanford even though it wasn’t their first choice. Many applied REA to Stanford because they realized Harvard doesn’t have SCEA, and they thought if I don’t get into Harvard then I have Stanford to fall back on.</p>
<p>So, “gaming” the system has always been going on.</p>
<p>My counselor thinks that Stanford REA is more “random” than Stanford RD. She told me that if I wanted to apply to a top school for early action, I should go with one of HYP. I’m currently debating whether to stick with Stanford or to go with Harvard instead - for Harvard, the supplementary essay is not even required, while I’m still revising my Stanford supplement answers. I think I’ll wait until around the middle of this month to make a decision. In the meantime, I’ll try my best to finish my Stanford supplement as quickly as possible…</p>
<p>@CS: I’m not denying that people “game” the system :)</p>
<p>Good luck, calgirl15.</p>
<p>I already have my Stanford application completed, except my essay about What Matters to Me, why.</p>
<p>Getting in Stanford REA is definitely not any harder than RD. I have talked to plenty of admissions officers and seen many low achieving students get in REA. As everyone else has said, if Stanford is your first choice, you have a high enough GPA and don’t need to raise it, and are done with testing - apply EA. It’s as simple as that.</p>
<p>I highly doubt the admissions officers used the term “low achieving”, it sounds rude. And, if many of the REA’s admitted students are “low achieving”, then why in the hell accept them? Those “low-achieving” students must have had something special on their applications to get into Stanford, over “high-achievers”.</p>
<p>. . . . . . . . . . .</p>
<p>^ Are you a freshman in HS?</p>
<p>My understanding is that if you are a solid candidate then apply REA because if you don’t make it then you will be deferred to RD. If you are out right denied then you never stood a chance, regardless if you had a2400 or not. For Stanford its not all about the scores, its about being extremely well rounded but passionate about “something”. Stanford really likes kids that are laid back, and not cocky. They are smart but the kinda students that sometimes fly under the radar. People know they are smart just not exactly how smart. If that sounds like you and your scores are good, gpa, ltrs of rec, ec’s etc then apply rea you probably have nothing to lose. </p>
<p>Good Luck</p>
<p>Does SCEA look for more diverse applicants or for focused applicants? for example does someone who dabbles in everything have a bettter chance than someone who orients their application to math and science? or is this another one of those dumb questions where the answer is that it depends on each applicant?</p>