<p>Hey everyone, I'm new here. I'm a prospective student for the class of 2014 and I was wondering what the general rule of thumb is for SCEA versus RD...</p>
<p>With my stats etc., I think there's not much of a chance I'd get in, especially after seeing how many kids got rejected with perfect scores, but my idea is that I'll just spend the $75 and apply anyway. </p>
<p>I've heard that a greater percent of students get accepted in the SCEA pool, but was that group of students headed for acceptance anyway? If one is very unsure as to whether or not she will be accepted (as I am), would it be a better idea to apply RD?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help :)</p>
<p>Hi and welcome to CC! </p>
<p>First, your question is one of the most frequently asked here on the Yale forum. If you use the Search function (upper right) and type in ‘SCEA’, you’ll get many threads that discuss this topic and will give you some good background and views.</p>
<p>Second, beyond the odds of getting accepted to Y SCEA, IMO you need to consider your options for applying to any early admissions in the context of an application strategy. For instance, if for monetary reasons you’re not planning to apply ED anywhere, and Y is your only top choice that has EA, then it might make sense to apply SCEA. However, if for instance, MIT and UChicago are also top choices and Y is a longshot given your gpa, test scores, etc., then you might want to do EA at both of those schools and RD for Y.</p>
<p>I agree with entomom. I think that if you are a marginal candidate you should not ‘waste’ your early application opportunity on Yale. My impression (based on looking at the ‘results’ threads) is that Yale is far more difficult to get into in the SCEA round than RD. On the other hand if you are even slightly competitive for Yale you would be very competitive for EA at UChicago, Georgetown and other less competitive schools. If you are willing to do ED then you could consider Columbia, Penn, Brown, etc, which are all easier to get into ED than RD.</p>
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<p>Disagree. There is little difference between those who were accepted EA vs. those who were accepted RD. The reason that the SCEA has a higher yield is because, not only does applying SCEA show a true desire to attend Yale, but the pool is self-selecting. Your chances at acceptance are essentially the same whichever way you apply (in my opinion), but whether your early application is best used at Yale, as entomom says, is up to you. If Yale is really your dream school, then I think you should apply to Yale early.</p>
<p>Well Yale is definitely my first choice right now. I wouldn’t rather go anywhere else, so if applying early wouldn’t hurt my chances, I would surely be willing to use my chance for early decision for Yale. </p>
<p>The only problem is that I haven’t taken my SAT IIs yet and I also need to retake the SATs. So I would take those tests in October and November, respectively. In order to be a competitive applicant, I really need to do a lot better on the SAT, and the SAT IIs will be my first time taking them. </p>
<p>A page on the Yale website ([Application</a> to Yale College | Freshmen | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/application/index.html]Application”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/application/index.html)) says that the latest possible date for testing for SCEA is November, so I guess the scores could arrive later than the application? So that part would work out…</p>
<p>However, my biggest concern regarding SCEA is that I could not do well enough on the SATs or SAT IIs and be stuck having already sent in my application, whereas if I wait until RD, I would have the chance to retake tests if I need to…</p>
<p>Any advice? </p>
<p>Thanks a lot to everyone for your help.</p>
<p>I do have two hooks though – my stepfather is a Yale graduate, and I am a musician, if that counts?</p>
<p>If you are really unsure of whether or not you’ll be satisfied with the second round of tests, then maybe it would be better for you to wait until the regular decision round. Note, though, that I think it’s pretty unusual for someone to retake subject tests, and hopefully you wouldn’t need to take the SAT a third time to get the score that you want.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily call either of those things a HOOK, unless your stepfather donates a great deal of money to Yale. Being a musician can be a great extracurricular activity, that by itself probably won’t guarantee anything.</p>
<p>Oh I thought the legacy thing counted no matter how much money is involved…but I’m pretty sure my stepfather doesn’t donate that much money so I guess I’m out of luck there.</p>