<p>I'm planning on applying to either of these two early. I fell in love with Amherst and the town and the college, and I love how small it is and the sense of community. I also love that its a super small school in a bigger college town.
However, I loved Yale's residential system and I think I could get an equally wonderful education with the same kind of community feel. But the fact that its a larger university turns me off a tiny tiny bit. </p>
<p>Stats: </p>
<p>3.96 cum GPA, very hard classes. Go to a very prestigious boarding school, but I'm probably in the top 10%. We don't rank though.
33 ACT
750 SAT Lit
730 SAT US History
Over 7 AP's, all 4's or 5's
Extensive Extracurriculars, very involved in the community. Student Body President. Captain of Field Hockey, Editor of School Literary Magazine, etc.
Hooks: First Generation College, African-American, Native American
Will need a large amount of financial aid.</p>
<p>I know that Amherst is binding, and Yale not so much, but in terms of my stats where do I have a better chance? Also, anyone that has experience with either schools please give me your opinions on the schools community and life there. </p>
If you apply to Yale SCEA, and are accepted, you DO NOT have to agree to attend. You can make your decision anywhere between mid-December and May 1st, after you’ve have had a chance to review all other financial aid offers. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you apply to Amherst ED, you MUST commit to Amherst, send in your deposit before January 15th and agree to withdraw all your applications to other colleges RD. You DON"T get a chance to see where else you might have been accepted and review their FA offers. That’s a huge difference!</p>
<p>Now . . .that said, where do you see yourself applying and why?</p>
<p>Hi - I was kind of in a similar situation in the fall.
I was really stuck between UChicago and Yale, two schools that were awesome at my major (Political Science/International Studies) and both that I had the same chance of getting into (for me: none). I knew I was going to apply early to one, but I didn’t know which. </p>
<p>I sat down with a piece of paper, a pencil, and wrote each ‘Why this school’ essay. When I read each one over, it was really obvious. My UChicago essay, although I had dreamed of the school for years, didn’t sound as sincere as my Yale one. With Yale, I could envision myself in the campus, the atmosphere, my classes, and it showed in the shore 100 word essay, not so much for Chicago.</p>
<p>So do the same. It’s important that its not online where you can get caught up in spelling and looking things up, really let your heart show. Admissions can definitely sense it, and I’m pretty sure thats how I got in.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you guys! @entomom yes I am enrolled in a tribe. @ellacherie thank you, I’ll definitely give that a try. How do you like Yale? Does it feel big? How is the residential system? How big are the classes? Sorry for so many questions! I visited a couple months ago and absolutely loved the campus and my tour guides.</p>
<p>I’m actually finishing up senior year of HS right now, but Yale seems pretty awesome I go to Bulldog days in less than two weeks and I’m excited! I’ll come back to this thread then and let you know!</p>
<p>Thanks for responding, I asked because Y and other schools will ask for proof of enrollment and often students don’t understand that NA is the one URM category that can have such requirements.</p>
<p>Given your stats, HS and the fact that you are AA & NA, I’d suggest you give serious consideration to applying EA to Y and RD to Amherst. This is based on: 1) The financial considerations in applying EA vs. ED; and 2) the fact that A has a much more difficult time recruiting and retaining URMs, making you an attractive candidate there whenever you apply.</p>
<p>I think with ED you are committing yourself early unnecessarily, you’re a very competitive candidate. Since FA is a factor, ED will not permit you to compare FA packages. And HYPS often have the most generous FA, even compared to schools like A and other highly selective colleges. In addition to being able to compare FA packages, if you are accepted to both, like A better, but get better FA from Y, you can ask A to reevaluate your FA package and it’s very possible they would match or increase their FA based on the more generous FA from a peer school.</p>
<p>@ellacherie Whoops! My bad, I totally read over the fact that you were just deciding this last fall. Have a wonderful time at Bull Dog day and let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear about the campus/community/all that good stuff. </p>
<p>@entomom Thank you so much for the advice! It’s good to hear from someone who knows what they’re talking about. I’m highly considering applying EA to Yale. I’m visiting again this summer, so hopefully that will end in me making up my mind. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I will add for emphasis, liking a school is important, but it’s not enough if you can’t afford to attend. The first rule of applying to ANY school ED is that you do NOT need to compare FA packages. I see this happening under two scenarios:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your family can afford and is willing to pay full cost for the college.</p></li>
<li><p>It is a school which: a) provides 100% of need; b) has a no loan policy; AND c) you have run the NPC and are confident that you will receive enough FA to attend (Note: NPCs are an only an estimate and complications such as owning a small business, divorced parents, owning rental property, etc. make the NPC less reliable). So, in this approach you can never be absolutely sure that the school will be affordable.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A family can have greater confidence in approach #2 if the school has a low income FA policy that guarantees to eliminate the family contribution for certain income limits. Here is the Y policy:</p>
<p>I have not been able to find a low income initiative for A in an internet search. A has new initiatives to help low income students succeed, but they are not financial:</p>
<p>Another thing to consider, both A & Y participate in QuestBridge (see the QB subforum under the FA & Scholarships forum).</p>
<p>The reason I have gone on so long about this is because every year we see numerous students who have applied ED come here looking for help because they cannot afford the school with the FA package they were offered. You have excellent qualifications, it would be a shame to see you make a basic mistake like this when you have so many options open to you. And while the discussion has centered around Y & A, it is really one about any EA and ED schools. </p>
<p>And you will be attending college a little over a year after that. While it may not seem like it now, much can happen in that time, why not give yourself some options and have several colleges to choose from in Spring 2015? [That’s a rhetorical question, no need to respond]</p>
<p>@entomom I have to say thank you again for putting so much detail and thought into your response. I’m already planning on applying for the QuestBridge program this coming fall, and have already applied for their summer scholarship so I can hopefully get back out to the east coast to visit for free. Hearing all of this only further pushes me towards applying SCEA for Yale so I could compare my financial aid from them with my RD schools. </p>
I go to Bulldog days in less than two weeks and I’m excited! I’ll come back to this thread then and let you know!</p>