I was accepted REA, and I’m like 95% sure I want to attend, but before I received the good news, I was preparing my applications for Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia.
Should I continue to perfect those supplements and apply or just commit to Stanford? I can’t envision myself choosing any of them over Stanford, but just in case I ever change my mind, I guess I’d want more options… Columbia would be free for me since I attended their engineering fly in program. IDK. And winter break is making me feel soooo lazy hahaha
honestly, I would apply to the other colleges…you’re a strong candidate and Stanford is the peak school BUT i would want more options in March/April…I would do it so you can enter fall of 2017 with no lingering regrets…
No. You should apply to 2-3 more schools that are equal in your eyes to Stanford, go visit and be 100% sure. This is your life we are talking about! You can crank out an app in a few hours – you can likely “recycle” your essays with minor tweaking to the other schools. I would also recommend flying out to your other top schools and visiting. You have to be 100% certain because often where you go to college is where you end up settling for much of your life. Don’t be lazy! My DD BTW is in the same boat and I gave her the same advice… Congrats to both of you but just do it!
I’m of the different mentality. Stanford is way different in many aspects than the other three (obviously all four are great unis). Will something emerge that washes away why you chose to apply to S under REA?
I seriously doubt it. Regrets? Pfft. Shrug that off. You’re golden. I’d sleep in, go to bed late and enjoy every last minute of the remainder of 2016 – and be content with Stanford.
My kid fortunately got into Stanford REA also. He quit with all other applications because he wanted to avoid another unnecessary, possible dilemma of having to decide between Stanford and another school. He got into his first choice and he’s grateful. And he decided his life will not improve for better even if he gets into other good schools. Also, why put in additional work when you can enjoy rest of your senior year.
And no, he doesn’t care if Harvard is in the middle of a wonderful city; he rather wear shorts and T shirts every day and enjoy the nice weather. Riding bicycle should give him good daily exercise. Lol
Anyway, that’s his attitude. He just doesn’t want additional hassle and going into a chill mode.
sounds like you’re interested in engineering… no contest… you got into the best engineering school. relax cause next year is going to be very hard and very competitive. Stanford engineering is brutal. good luck!
I agree with post 11 - if money is not an issue and Stanford is your clear #1, then no need to apply elsewhere. If money is an issue, it might be worth seeing if another of those schools offers substantially more need based aid. Schools will sometimes take another look at their aid package if a school they see as a peer offers a more generous need based package, as each school has its own formula and significant variations are possible.
I’m not talking about merit money at schools a notch down the selectivity ladder, which Stanford is not likely to care about.
@SouthernHope@sgopal2@kath00 I think you guys are right, there’s not much to lose, and even if there’s little chance I’d attend those other schools, it would give me some peace of mind by not making me regret anything. Thanks guys.
@T26E4 You know, I really questioned myself to see if that was why I was submitting a few more apps, but I’m confident that’s not it. People in my life have already reacted with complete disbelief and shock at the stanford acceptance, so I’ve already gotten all the attention anyone could want lol. I think I’ll submit the rest of the applications just to have some peace of mind and quell the voice in my head that’s like, “Well what if you like Princeton more, hmm??” But thanks man.
And yup, Stanford is extremely affordable for us and money isn’t an issue going there. The financial aid package they gave me is fantastic! Harvard’s might be a little better, but not by an substantial, meaningful amount. Thank you everyone though!
@ClarinetDad16 As of now, there isn’t, but I’m gonna submit the rest of the applications in case I ever change my mind in the near future. So I think I’m applying mostly for security haha.
If you are going to apply to other schools, one small bit of advice. During the interviews don’t mention that you already have a Stanford EA acceptance in the bag. I had this happen to me during several of my alumni interviews, and I always include this in my interview report. The admissions people like to preserve their yield as much as possible.
Given that Stanford is not giving us any financial aid, I secretly wish my kid will go to Univ of South Carolina Honors College on a full scholarship. To be very honest, I am not completely happy that I will have to cough up $300K for my kid’s 4 years education at Stanford. I mean if I were Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton, I would be ecstatic if my kid was accepted at Stanford, I guess. If it were me, I would turn away HYPSM and attend Univ of South Carolina Honors College and major in Int’l Business but . . . anyway, this is only time so far that I wished we were poor so our kid could attend Stanford for almost free. Ughhh . . .
As an aside, USA is a great country in this context because it offers some studious kids from “not financially well off” families to attend a great school for almost free.
If Stanford is not giving your kid any financial aid that means you make more than 200k per year. You should willingly pay for it. The only thing that would be better is if the government provided for a free college education for all
“You should willingly pay for it” - I am not sure about it.
Things that are free are often under appreciated.
Even if the public college education is free, there will still be people flocking to private universities with or without financial aid. Just saying!
My DD BTW is in the same boat and I gave her the same advice… Congrats to both of you but just do it!