My unweighted GPA is currently a 3.45 and my weighted GPA is 3.75, and I have taken a rigorous schedule with multiple AP classes. My class rank is in the top 25%. My ACT is a 32, and I hope to raise it in September. I understand that Colorado College highly values interest shown through essays and applying EA, but if I apply RD, they would be able to see my midyear report, where I’m almost certain my GPA will rise to a 3.5 UW/3.9 W GPA. When should I apply to give me the best chance of admissions?
I advise you to apply EA. I don’t think a .05 difference in GPA has much if any effect. The weighted GPA may (emphasis on MAY) show a little more difference but if you were my kid I’d say, apply EA.
EA isn’t going to give you a substantial boost so if you think you can actual raise your 3.75 to a 3.9 weighted that would help you more than EA.
CC only considers Unweighted GPA. The weighted only serves to assist you in your own class rank and perhaps help illustrate rigor. It is also unlikely that an increase in GPA of .05 is going to make a huge difference. You can see the stats for the Class of 2020 here:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/classof2019/
(I know the link says 2019 but the data is this year) Perhaps the most important data is the admission rates. The ED rate is 31.4% and the RD rate is 6.2% . Those who apply ED can be deferred to RD if they miss the line. So you would probably get the RD review anyway. Every year, it seems more and more like the best route for students who really want to come here is to apply ED.
There is a big differnce between EA and ED. I answered your Q based on EA, as you said. @KoloradoKid is talking abiut ED. It appears that applying ED may give a student a slight boost based on their commitment to attend. Overall the college says that it uses the same admission standards for all rounds. Don’t misread the % differences, they reflect differing applicant pools, recruits, legacies, etc., not necessarily any actual increased chance of admission.
The admit rate for Early Action is 17.4%.
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/admission/application/firstyear/early/
@alooknac . Agreed that EA and ED are very different things. You are also correct that the % are not directly tied to likelihood of admission for any one student. That said, CC has recently joined the ranks of hyper-competitive colleges with 8000 students vying for 500 spots. The wording on the website is a little vanilla, but the people in Admissions make no bones about the fact that ED is the way to go if CC is #1 on your list, and your parents don’t have to sell your siblings to pay the bills. I am not sure that the ‘boost’ is all that slight. In fact, at Accepted Students Weekend, they made a point to say that they reserve spots for great applicants who apply EA and RD, but they could easily fill the class with ED applicants, which would make their life much easier.
My point is that any student who has a clear #1 choice within their budget - whether CC, Pomona, Bowdoin, Carleton, Vandy, Rice or wherever - should seriously consider ED. You can work the math backwards and see that about half of my class (2019) and half the Class of 2020 were students who applied ED. I pretty much concentrated on the OP’s last sentence: “When should I apply to give myself the best chance at admission?”
I think @KoloradoKid is right. CC is a great school with a beautiful campus. When schools offer both EA and ED applying ED would definitely give you a boost because the college knows they are filling a spot in the class for sure. If you know that CC is your top school then there is no reason, besides money, to not apply ED. That will give you the best chance of admission.
Since OP has not returned, I will speak for them from previous post of theirs:
ED is generally not recommended for applicants who need or want to be able to compare FinAid packages.
I can’t contribute a ton of evidence about financial aid. I can say that CC is committed to meeting 100% of need up to the EFC on FAFSA. The few people I have spoken to say that FAFSA matches the Net Price Calculator almost to the penny. As a result, it is pretty easy to estimate your expenses at CC and any other college that commits to 100% of need. We did a project in my HS honor society where we built comparisons of the NPC for 50 top colleges. Some colleges give 100% of need. Others do not. The point is that it is possible to compare financial aid packages prior to even applying. These days, there is almost no merit aid available, and those who get it have almost perfect GPA and tons of rigor. No offense intended to the OP, but a 3.5 GPA is almost certainly not going to earn a merit scholarship at CC.
At the moment, I am not really considering applying ED anywhere. As said above, financial aid will play a key role in my decision making process. ED is an extremely serious commitment for one to make, and as so many things can change in terms of preferences of colleges, I think it’s simply too risky of a move. However, with that being said, I am considering EA because although it is not binding, it does display interest and show a serious desire to attend (not sure how big of a factor this plays for CC specifically). On the other hand, RD will allow colleges to see a midyear report and take that into consideration, and this can possibly be of some help, as my class rank could rise and they could see the ability to succeed in some of the most difficult classes offered. If CC really does judge all pools of applicants in the same manner despite the discrepancies in acceptance rates, whether it be ED, EA, or RD, it seems in my case, RD would be more reasonable. Can anyone give some reasons as to what advantages EA would have over RD other than finding out the results sooner?
RD is MUCH more selective than EA at Colorado College. You should apply EA to increase your chances. It’s also very important to take the school’s supplemental essays very seriously and put some thought into them.
All of the responses here make a lot of sense, and I agree that EA would be a better option than RD, since the latter has become extremely selective (at 6.2%). One other consideration seems possible: ED 2. The deadline is January 15, the same deadline as RD. That would allow the Office of Admission to see your midyear report, and it’s possible that your choices may be clearer by January. Based on the admission rates, it seems that your best chances are (1) ED, either 1 or 2; (2) EA; and (3) RD. One final thought: you might ask someone from the Office of Admission what they would advise, based on your situation. Their perspective could help you in your decision-making process.