<p>Can anyone who is very knowledgeable about SCEA assuage my fears of applying to safeties (or schools that are below Yale on my list) only after I get my admission decision from Yale. I would find out whether I get in SCEA around December 15, and the deadline for Regular Decision at most other schools is January 1. I would have a lot of the applications and supplements filled out by then, but I could save some money. Has anyone had experience of this backfiring on them, like if you missed something and it was too late to send it in?</p>
<p>What if I send in all of my applications but I don't send in the payments until after I find out my Yale decision? Does that work?</p>
<p>It’s basically OK to wait until after you hear from Yale, although I’d strongly encourage you to have your other applications ready to submit. There are a few potential issues to be aware of. First, if any of your schools are public universities that practice rolling admissions, be sure to file your application before the priority deadlines lapse (deadlines are often Nov. 1, and almost always before Dec. 15.) Also, be aware that if you wait to submit until after Dec. 15, you run the risk of being shut out of the opportunity for an alumni interview in regions where interviewers’ dance cards fill up fast.</p>
<p>^Although interviews don’t make or break you (unless, as one Brown admissions officer put it, you bring your Nobel Prize in Physics to the interview), they’re not unimportant. They offer the school a more personal view of you and gives it the chance to basically reaffirm its decision.</p>
<p>@wjb, thank you for your advice. I think I will take advantage of this gap, but I will still apply to a few other schools high up on my list before my SCEA decision just to be safe. =D</p>
<p>Re the importance of interviews: At many schools, including Yale, interviews are informative only – they’re a way for you to learn more about the university from an alum, and a way for alums to stay connected to the alma mater. Presumably, if you come across as the next Charles Manson, they can harm your chances. </p>
<p>But at some schools, interviews are evaluative – they play a real role in the admissions process. They’re also a good way for applicants to demonstrate interest at schools that care about demonstrated interest. At schools that track interest, you want to maximize your chances of getting an interview.</p>
<p>Your location says NY. Unless you live in some tiny town 3 feet in from the Canadian border, it’s unlikely you’ll have any trouble getting an interview at any Ivy.</p>
However, this is incorrect. On the Yale website, it states, “They are evaluative and will be considered along with the other application materials.”</p>
<p>I stand corrected. The CDS confirms that Yale “considers” the interview in making admissions decisions. My sense, still, is that the interview doesn’t weigh heavily in admissions decisions at Yale – unless during the interview a candidate exhibits sociopathic or other alarming tendencies.</p>
<p>100% no joke I live on the west coast in a city that’s 40mns away froM Canada.
What are the odds
But luckily I have friends that are seniors at Yale, and theres a couple Yalies from my farm town :)</p>
<p>While there are financial reasons to hold off on those other applications, we felt that there were psychological reasons to go ahead and complete them and send them in. It reduced the sensation that everything was hinging on the SCEA result. Also, if you get rejected SCEA, you might be discouraged, which could affect your other applications and interviews.</p>
