SCEA or RD?? A Son's Dillema

<p>Hey, my son is going to apply early to stanford. however, he (and I) have heard from LOTS of sources that applying early to stanford might be a slight disadvantage if you are unhooked and not at the top of Stanford quantitative stats because you will def get rejected if you dont have the higher end scores, grades, etc in the first round. My son has 3.95+ GPA, 35 ACT (albeit a poor SAT score), 700-740 SAT 2s, top 5% class rank (class is small). He has good but not great ECs and essays. Do you thikn it would be a disadvantage for him to apply early because he is unhooked? Would he fare better applying regular? Any insight on this would be great. he loves stanford and its his first choice, but i dont want him to apply early to stanford if it is disadvantegeous (ive heard stanford's early vs RD is wierd).</p>

<p>They said those rejected at REA would also be rejected if submit for RD. I think the main question is whether you son is trying to improve the scores or GPA before application. If one do need to improve GPA/score, then applying REA would have the disadvantage.</p>

<p>The only thing I know about Stanford’s EA vs RD is that, unlike other top schools, Stanford does not defer EA applicants. Or defers very few. If your son thinks his application file is the best that it can be right now, then maybe he should apply EA. If he thinks his application may improve between now and December, then maybe he should wait.</p>

<p>I keep hearing that if Stanford wants an applicant, he will get in, it doesn’t matter whether he or she applies EA or RD.</p>

<p>Yes, Stanford reject most of the REA and defer very little.</p>

<p>OP. Stanford is the ONLY top school that does not “lead one on” with deceptive “deferments” as many of its peers like to do…they have the decency to give you the answer without the wishy-washy “non answer” in the early round…so that the student can completely focus on his/her other applications for the regular round…</p>

<p>…I believe more schools should be honest like this…</p>

<p>If your son has the time and desire to improve his essays, it would be better for him to apply regular decision. You mentioned he has good, but not great ECs and essays. If his application will not be improved in the extra two months, it won’t matter if he applies early or regular decision. Good luck!</p>

<p>@gravitas2 - I agree. I like Stanford’s approach.</p>

<p>For SCEA, the numbers last year were approx:
12% accepted
9% deferred
rest, denied.</p>

<p>Apparently around 15% of deferred eventually get in, although in 2009, the number was 10% - so they have gotten even better at determining the deferred pool</p>

<p>@onemoreparent what do you mean when you say I have heard when Stanford wants a student EA or RD doesn’t matter. How does a student know if they are “wanted.” Do you mean athletics or some other type of situation?</p>

<p>@fieldhockee I think that refers to what Stanford (and perhaps others) say about early admission. They say that if they wanted to accept you during EA, they would also have accepted you if you applied RD.</p>

<p>Back to the OP, I think the main decision about EA is what other people said - that your son needs to determine if he would have a stronger application in January (scores, GPA, essays, ECs, recommendations, etc).</p>

<p>I disagree that you are at a disadvantage if you are unhooked in the first round. Your main disadvantage is whether or not the application is really strong.</p>

<p>The other disadvantage (for everyone) is that they get a lot of strong applications.</p>

<p>The R of the REA part also makes a difference. For RD, all the deferred Ivies applicants may also apply to Stanford. While at the REA round, they cannot if they are applying ED or private EA elsewhere. That’s why you see a much larger pool of applicants fighting for the remaining seats.</p>