<p>My son is probably going to apply to Dartmouth ED. I think he shapes up pretty well (All A's except for one B at an elite semester program away, decent EC's, captain of his primary sports team, lots of interesting travel experience, some volunteer work). 5's on the three AP's he's taken. National Merit. Understand, of course, that it's a crapshoot.</p>
<p>On the SAT I, he scored 800 on both CR and W, and a 720 M. He's a really good math student, and feels like another 800 (with some studying...something he didn't bother with first time around) is achievable. His SAT II scores weren't great. I think he scored 790 on History, but his Math 2 and Lit scores were closer to 700. </p>
<p>There's only one more test date available for scores to be ready for the 11/1 ED deadline. Should he do the SAT I and go for the 2400 superscore, or should he get those SAT II scores up? </p>
<p>Also, Dartmouth only requires 2 SAT II tests. Will submitting only 2 SAT II scores leave him at some sort of disadvantage? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’d go for the 2400. The admissions officers won’t give a damn about the SAT II scores if he submits a 2400 because they’ll know he can handle the work. Plus, the 790 is solid, and 700+ is decent. If the second score is closer to 750, then he’s definitely set in the standardized testing department.</p>
<p>EDIT 2: Because ED confers an advantage in admissions. Should her son apply RD, there’s a smaller chance he’ll get in, and that’s a shame if Dartmouth is his first choice school.</p>
<p>I think it is unlikely that he would get a complete reject on his ED application; deferred is more likely than reject in my mind. So retake the SATI in time for ED, and take the SATII again to hedge against a WL decision from the ED round. Then you would have solid new informaton when he is reconsidered in the RD round.</p>
<p>On the difference in admission rates between ED and RD - during a campus information session, a representative of the admissions department indicated that there were a higher percentage of recruited athletes in the ED pool. The admissions representative indicated that if you remove this group of recruited athletes from the ED pool, the difference in ED/RD admission rates is significantly reduced.</p>
<p>Applying ED illustrates unparalleled commitment. Dartmouth takes that into account when making its decision.</p>
<p>So yes, if only one spot were remaining in the class of 2015, and two students had the exact same profile, the one who applied ED would get in, while the other would be waitlisted.</p>
<p>EDIT:</p>
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<p>That’s true, but even then, unhooked applicants with slightly weaker than average profiles continue to get in ED, while droves of similar applicants are rejected RD. Explain that one.</p>
<p>The thing you’ll find is that Dartmouth admissions officers will never say, “Applying early decision confers zero advantage. That strong display of interest means nothing to us.”</p>
<p>Any thoughts on whether Dartmouth will want to see more than two SAT II scores? Is the minimum enough (the kid has very solid grades, good SAT I scores, and three 5’s on the AP’s he’s taken…being away for a semester of junior year cut into his AP schedule in 11th grade), or does he need to show solid SAT II scores in more than two subjects? thx</p>
<p>Feel free to disagree–I asked the q because I truly do no know.</p>
<p>msa–I have never seen any evidence or clear rationale why having more than 2 SATIIs provides a significant admissions bump. Nice data, good scores buttress the agrument, but not essential by any means.</p>