<p>So I slacked on my grades and test scores so I have a 3.76 unweight, 4.57 weighted and 2080 (high on math, bad on the other 2), but I go to a nationally known Science, math, comp sci magnet program. I'm a black female and I want to go into engineering/comp sci. I have a 800 in math and I'll probably do well on my physics sat. My coursework totally emphasizes my strong comp sci background, I have great EC's and probably great recs. I also trust my essays.</p>
<p>I know my SAT's are low, but I live on the other side of the country. So would it be better to apply SCEA to show that I'm actually willing to cross the country for them or should I do RD and go for the sat again (it'd be my 3rd time, but I sorta forgot to study the last times)? Would it matter?</p>
<p>What are your ECs? That is part of decision Rd or SCEA … Are they truly outstanding?</p>
<p>varsity track captain (on a relay that made 2 state appearances last year), varsity soccer, every summer I also help little kids learn how to play soccer, summer intern at a Kinesiology lab where I did an independent research project, part of an Anti-Defamation league where we address discrimination among peers (my school’s the epitome of diverse), tutor a highschool Algebra 1 class even though I’m in MV Calc, participate in Cameroonian cultural enrichment (my parents are immigrants), and the usual like NHS and Youth and Gov</p>
<p>LOL, WarNPeace–“actually willing to cross the country”. People from all over the world compete to attend Stanford, so I don’t think that will have a whole lot of impact. Good luck, though.</p>
<p>I disagree that not applying SCEA won’t have an impact. SCEA applicants were admitted at a rate of 12.8%, significantly higher than the overall admit rate of 6.6%. Of course, the applicant pool is also stronger, so I’ve heard at least, for SCEA - but probably not twice as strong, so the advantage seems to be there.</p>
<p>I also think there is an element of human nature at work: Family member on the admissions committee of a top medical school was talking about how jaded the admissions committee is by the end of the application cycle - they have seen it all so nothing short of an impending Noble Prize impresses them by March. I have to believe that this is also at work in undergrad admissions.</p>
<p>My point is that signaling a willingness to cross the country is not going to have much, if any, impact, especially in the SCEA pool. (The admissions office knows that SCEA applicants are very interested in attending, since SCEA requires applicants to forgo most other early application options.) If the OP thinks she can significantly improve her academic profile by waiting until the RD round, that would be a superior strategy IMO.</p>
<p>Well the east coast have 7 ivy’s (minus Dartmouth) and MIT so a lot of people I know apply to Stanford with no true intention of going there. I do plan on improving my stats, but I think I’ll just get this admit/reject out of the way- less anxiety.</p>
<p>WarNPeace, I find it hard to believe that a lot of people, as you say, go through the time-consuming process of completing a Stanford application with “no true intention of going there” if they were to get accepted. That makes no sense. I could see that with Harvard, though, since their application is much simpler.</p>