I know this is a much-debated topic but I’m still slightly confused - all the admission officers say that there isn’t any advantage and the acceptance rate is higher during EA simply because the stronger applicants apply early. Is that true though? So say I am a borderline applicant, no Nature paper, haven’t cured cancer, but have very good grades, 10+ APs, 2300+ SATs, few awards here and there, is there an advantage to applying early?
Thanks
Yes, with your stats, if Harvard is your first choice school, then apply SCEA. You should also apply early to any non-binding state school – and should do so, as that will give you at least one acceptance in your back-pocket come mid-December.
Keep in mind that the SCEA applicant pool is self-selective, meaning that every student with a 2300+ SAT who thinks Harvard is their first choice school will also be applying early – so who knows what will happen. Best of luck to you!
Would it be better if I apply to some other school and then apply to Harvard RD though? Since chances at Harvard are very low…
That’s the dilemma every student faces: To put all your eggs in one-basket by applying SCEA to HYP or S, or applying to a broad range of non-binding schools in the early round and apply to HYPS in the RD round.
Having been through this with both my kids, here’s my advice: No matter what HYPS Admissions says, I think your chances are better in the SCEA round. So, if you have a 2200+ SAT, with 10 AP classes and AP tests all with 4’s and 5’s, and an unweighted GPA above 95 (on a 1-100 scale) or an unweighted 3.9 (on a 1-4 scale), then you should apply to HYPS in the SCEA round to whichever school is your favorite.
If you have a sub-2200 SAT or the ACT equivalent, then you should NOT apply SCEA no matter what your GPA, as your application will get buried by the polly-perfect’s of this world.
Full Disclosure: My daughter applied to Yale SCEA with a 97.8 unweighted GPA, 8 AP’s (all 5’s), 6 SAT Subject tests (all 750+), and a 34 ACT and was deferred then rejected. She applied to Harvard and Princeton in the RD and was waitlisted at Princeton and accepted to Harvard.
My son applied to Yale SCEA with a 96.87 unweighted GPA, 8 AP’s (all 5’s), 8 SAT Subject tests (all 750+), and a 36 ACT and was accepted. He applied to Harvard and Princeton in the RD round and was accepted to Princeton and rejected from Harvard.