Decisions, decisions. In my opinion, I would go to Stanford over UPenn any day (not that I would never want to go to UPenn). The weather, programs, social environment, freedom, etc. are beyond amazing (I would also like to stay at my home state instead of moving to the east coast if acceptable). I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, so I’ll just get right to the point.
REA Stanford or ED UPenn? (Applying as business major or undeclared)
Should I apply ED to UPenn and have a higher chance of being admitted (although binding) OR take the lesser chance of being admitted and still go for REA to Stanford?
The thing that I’m worried about is that I feel like I might be wasting the opportunity of applying early to another school to have a better chance of getting accepted than Stanford.
Any thoughts on how I should go about this?
Thanks!
“Decisions, decisions. In my opinion, I would go to Stanford over UPenn any day”
There you go.
Applying ED to UPenn will not increase your chances as much as you think it does. Only apply ED if that school is 100% your #1 choice.
Stanford does have a lower acceptance rate than UPenn for early, but both are equally difficult to get into; both are complete lotteries. A person who gets into Stanford may not get into UPenn, even though it is statistically easier.
Then again, I would say apply to none of these early, but rather to apply to safeties early. Your GPA is the weak point, which can be improved with first semester senior grades.
Generally for unhooked early applicants to Ivy Leagues/Stanford/MIT etc. , you want 2200+ SAT, 3.9+ UW GPA, top 1-3% class rank to remain competitive within the strong applicant pool. If your 3.77 UW is considered very high in your school, then you could take a shot at Stanford, else I would recommend that you apply to some safeties early, to have some acceptances in hand before winter break, and then apply to Stanford and UPenn regular with a better GPA from first semester senior year to make yourself an even more compelling candidate.
@rdeng2614 Thanks! I thought of my first semester grades too, but then I found out that my school doesn’t include first semester grades to schools that have deadlines on Jan 1-15 since our first semester ends sometime after that. My school also doesn’t rank. I thought people would generally apply early to their match/reach schools, not safeties, because they want to maximize their chance of being admitted by any means.
ED to Penn definitely gives you a higher chance of getting into Penn versus REA Stanford giving you a better chance of getting into Stanford (Penn really stresses to apply ED if it’s your first choice; they admit nearly or over half of their class through ED). That being said, though, it doesn’t look like Penn is your first choice if you’re still lingering over Stanford. I hesitate to recommend REA Stanford just because it IS such a crapshoot, but if Stanford is where you belong, then apply REA Stanford. Try not to have any regrets in the college admissions game!
Im a little bias here because I am applying Penn ED, but why on earth would you apply ED to somewhere you are not one hundred percent certain that it is your first choice. If i were you, I would go stanford even though acceptance is incredibly low.
If I were you, I would apply Stanford REA and then Penn RD. Since you like Stanford better, it is not worth the increased chances at Penn for the guaranteed inability to go to Stanford if you got into Wharton. This way, you have an increased chance at Stanford, and a chance, albeit slim, at Penn RD. Also chance me back! Thanks!
I’d go Stanford REA if I were you. Your ACT and ECs are excellent, and I think you stand a good chance. also good because it’s not binding. you can still apply to wharton and other top schools RD if Stanford doesnt work out
(or even if you do get in but aren’t 100%). And as you said, you would go to Stanford over Penn any day. That speaks volumes, so I wouldn’t want to be stuck with a binding offer that is not your true first choice. Please chance me back!