We have read that applying early to your top school(s) gives you an admissions boost. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, depending on the school, but a boost nonetheless.
My son is trying to figure out the best strategy for his apps. He has competitive stats, advanced coursework, extraordinary ECs, great letters of rec. He is debating whether to apply SCEA to Stanford or EA simultaneously to a few other schools (2 reaches + 1 safety).
He does not have superstar international awards. He is not an URM. It seems in reading Stanford’s previous SCEA accepted threads that the admitted students are either extreme superstars or diversity kids or have some other major hook. Does anyone know of a top student without URM status, international awards, or other hook (development case, athlete, etc.) who was accepted in the SCEA round?
We think that without a major hook, he may get lost in the shuffle of the RD round. If there is even a little boost in admissions chances for him, he might want to use his early card at Stanford.
We know Stanford is a lottery school for everyone, so there’s no need to explain that.
I’d advise applying to Stanford during the regular round, not SCEA.
there is NOTHING worse than being rejected or deferred in Dec, and having to complete his other applications during the Xmas break .
If he needs merit $$ , be sure he also completes his applications in time to meet any scholarship deadlines.
Applying SCEA does not preclude him applying early to other colleges that require applications be submitted by a certain date for merit scholarship consideration [ like USC, which is Dec 1]
I think he should apply SCEA to Stanford but have all his other applications completed by mid-December. Don’t underestimate the effect a rejection or deferral will have on motivation then–my son applied to another school SCEA and got in but had already applied to his other main schools (the only ones he would consider if he got in SCEA to the school that was then his first choice) before getting the decision. He also had almost everything ready to go on the remaining schools and backups on his list. I know one person whose daughter hadn’t completed any of her other applications but got rejected from her early decision (not early action) school. She was devastated when she didn’t get in, and it made filling out the other applications extremely difficult.
Also, unlike many schools, Stanford prefers to give SCEA applicants final decisions—relatively few students get deferred. So one way or another, your son has a good chance of getting a yes or no then instead of a maybe. Good luck!
One other thing to factor in is that at some schools (such as Harvard) EA seems to carry more of an advantage relative to RD than it does at Stanford. Last year Stanford admitted about 10% EA and 5% overall, while Harvard admitted over 18% EA and 5.8% overall so the difference between the two rates was much larger at Harvard.
I know the EA and RD pools aren’t directly comparable at any school . . . more recruited athletes, legacies, etc. in the early pools . . . but it does seem like Stanford takes a different approach to EA than some other places.
