<p>I am a junior as of now, and I have my heart set on Stanford. My sat is pretty low for stanford (2050), and I want to take the SAT in october. However, the Stanford early action deadline is november 1st. I would prefer not to rush the score or send it to the university directly (my counselor was against this). Do i have ample time to do this? Or should i simply take the october sat and apply regular decision?</p>
<p>Another factor is my chances of getting in ea/regular. The admittance rate for early action is higher by 10%, but the people who apply ea are generally more qualified candidates than the regular decision applicants. Which will give me a higher chance to get accepted?</p>
<p>Considering these two, should i apply early action or regular decision? Again, stanford is really where i want to go. Thanks!</p>
<p>Applying EA to Stanford will not give you a better chance of getting in. In fact, given that you do need to raise your SAT score (yes, SAT scores aren't everything and yes, kids get into Stanford with your SAT score, but it isn't terribly competitive right now), and you don't want to just send the score to Stanford (although I will note that Stanford will see the score eventually no matter what), you probably will be better served by applying RD and polishing your app to the nth degree. However, you will know what your SAT score is before November 1st, and if you send it right away after seeing it, you should be fine. </p>
<p>P.S. Try to get your heart un-set on Stanford. Chances are slim even for the best of applicants, and having your heart set probably just means that you will get your heart broken. Make sure you form a sane list of schools with varying selectivity and that you would be happy to attend ANY.ONE of those schools. Trust me--it's the absolute best (and only) way to insure that you will end up reasonably happy/satisfied with the college admissions experience.</p>
<p>There's no reason for anyone, regardless of their SAT scores, to get their heart set on a school that accepts fewer than 11% of its applicants. That's a recipe for disappointment. </p>
<p>Go ahead and apply if you'd like. You might get in; a few people do. But the odds are remote, regardless of when you apply. And your future happiness will only depend on whether you get in only if you choose to delude yourself into thinking it will.</p>
<p>Stanford's deadline for the application for single choice early action is November 1 but it accepts for that any SAT score from a test taken through the October test date by regular time delivery, i.e., it can arrive after Nov 1 and you can just list Stanford as a college to receive the score on your application for the test. EA gives somewhat of a higher chance of admission but not a huge difference (you are basically talking about the difference between an 11% chance and 10% chance).</p>
<p>Have you taken any SAT IIs? Though they are not required by Stanford, they are recommended, most submit them, and, unless your other credentials are all outstanding, you may be at a disadvantage if you don't.</p>