Should I do SCEA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>Hey, I will be a senior next year, but still have most of my stats/ECs in. After looking at my stats, do you think I should do SCEA? Will it give me any advantage or should I just do RD? I really would love to go to Yale, but the fact that it is non-binding makes it even better...</p>

<p>I am a white boy from Massachusetts...immediate negative. My family is very financially secure, and I probably won’t be applying for financial aid (which I have read is a benefit now in our bleak economic times).</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA- 3.94
My school does not rank but I am in top 10% of class
PSAT – 211
SAT (first time)
CR: 740
W: 780
M: 670
SAT (second time)
CR: 670
W: 770
M: 700
Highest combined– 2220 (probably will be taking one more time)</p>

<p>ACT
English: 34
Math: 34
Reading: 34
Science: 30
Composite: 33</p>

<p>SAT IIs
Math I: 760
Math II: 800
U.S. History: 750</p>

<p>Academics
-Have made honors/high honors every marking term in high school
-Have received a final grade of at least an A- in every class
-With the exception of English freshman year and electives, all my classes have been Honors classes
-Am took AP US history Junior year (my school does not offer APs until Junior year)
-Next year I am taking AP BC Calc, AP Spanish, AP lit, and AP bio
- I attend one of the best public high schools in MA, it was only one of the 2 MA schools to receive the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon, and was given a silver medal by US News and World Report</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
- Boy Scouts of America (Grade 9, 10, 11)
o Achieved highest attainable rank—Eagle Scout (Grade 11)
- United Church of Christ membership confirmation (Grade 9)
- High School JV tennis (Grade 10)
- Weekly piano lessons (Grade 11)
- United Church of Christ Senior High Fellowship (Grade 11)
- Peer tutor at Medfield High School in math and English/writing (Grade 11)
- Student Member of Medfield High School Site Council (Grade 11)
- New England Mathematics League Participant (Grade 11)
- LifeSmarts Varsity Team member (Grade 11)
- Anime Club member (Grade 9, 10, 11)
- Member of Medfield High School Theatre Society (Grade 9, 10, 11)
o Backstage technician
o Set builder
o Spotlight operator
o Participated in 5 shows (3 plays, 2 musicals)
- National Honor Society (Grade 10, 11)--Vice-President (Grade 11)
- Spanish Honor Society (Grade 10, 11)</p>

<p>Work Experience
- Worked as merchandise salesman for Red Sox Official Team Store across the street from Fenway Park (summer of Grade 11)</p>

<p>Awards and Distinctions
- Shining Star Award (top 10% of class) (Grade 9, 10, 11)
- Excellence in Wellness (Grade 9)
- Above and Beyond in Science (Grade 10)
- Saint Michael's College Book Award for Scholarship and Service (Grade 11)
- Eligible to be National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist (or at least Commended Student)
- Took AMC 10 (Grade 9, 10)
- Took AMC 12 (Grade 11)
- Have made Honor Roll or High Honor Roll every marking period of high school</p>

<p>Future Activities and Plans
- This summer I will be:
o Volunteering weekly in the Emergency Department at the Milford Regional Medical Center
o Participating in a Youth Mission Trip to Washington D.C.--Tutoring inner city kids
o Working as an intern in cardiovascular research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston
My mentor is a PhD and professor at Harvard Medical School
- Senior year I will be participating in:
o Cross Country
o Senior Ambassador--Help freshman transition into high school</p>

2

<p>bumppppppppppp</p>

3

<p>the only thing is take another sat math i and mathii dont really count as two</p>

4

<p>You look competitive for RD but I think SCEA would be a very long shot. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do SCEA, but don’t be disappointed if you are deferred. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>wait i’m confused, applying scea is HARDER than RD?</p>

6

<p>see, what I’ve heard is this:</p>

<p>The % acceptance rate for SCEA is higher than RD. However, the applicant pool for SCEA is apparently overall much stronger than RD, so you are competing against strong applicants. However, to me, this defies logic. I would say there are a good amount of applicants to any Ivy League school that are a HUGE reaches…they are applying just to see what happens. Wouldn’t logic tell them to apply SCEA, because technically the odds are considerably better (unless of course they realize the SCEA pool is incredibly competitive). </p>

<p>In response to vicariousparent, if I got deferred into the RD pool, then I would still be where I would if I applied RD in the first place…therefore, what’s to lose (unless of course I get rejected outright, which I really don’t think/hope would happen)</p>

<p>In response to sohaibshaikh, while technically they are two different ones, Yale requires only 2 SAT IIs. US History and Math II are very different subject areas…so I would just be sending Math I to further improve my case. Also I’m running out of time to take SATs (because I am going to take SAT I one more time)</p>

<p>FINALLY, I honestly think we are going to see ED/EA applications numbers go down this year. Why? The economy. When someone applies ED, and gets accepted, they are stuck with that university/colleges financial aid package. So unless money is no object to the applicant or the applicant loves the college so much they don’t care about comparing financial aid packages, why do ED? Do RD and compare how much money you will be receiving from various institutions. Now because Yale’s SCEA is non-binding, it may not be as effected as ED policies, but still, I wouldn’t be surprised if potential Ivy Leaguers went to state Us because of money</p>

7

<p>“Now because Yale’s SCEA is non-binding, it may not be as effected as ED policies, but still, I wouldn’t be surprised if potential Ivy Leaguers went to state Us because of money”</p>

<p>But Yale has a need blind financial aid policy. If anything I’d say they’d be getting MORE applicants because people will be trying it to see what happens.</p>

<p>“if I got deferred into the RD pool, then I would still be where I would if I applied RD in the first place…therefore, what’s to lose (unless of course I get rejected outright, which I really don’t think/hope would happen”</p>

<p>You are a great applicant. And please understand that I’m not being mean or anything here but the chances are, you may very well get rejected outright. I’m saying that entirely based on the odds of acceptance. There’s literally thousands of people like you… and unfortunately, many of them have to get rejected. If Yale is your absolute top choice, then definitely apply SCEA and work super hard on getting your essays done excellently and build an amazing application that shows who you are as a person. If it’s not your top choice, then I’d say just go for RD along with your other schools.</p>

<p>Either way, best of luck to you.</p>

8

<p>I think you have a shot at SCEA, but to be honest, not an extremely strong one. Your grades are excellent, but your scores aren’t outstanding for Yale. Your ECs are good, but don’t include a lot of personal achievement outside of school (other than Eagle Scout, which is good but not that unusual). I agree that taking SAT one more time is a good idea.
As far as strategy goes, I see no harm in applying SCEA to Yale unless there are several other EA schools in which you are strongly interested.</p>

9

<p>As of now, I really don’t have a first choice. For the longest time I had it in my head to apply ED to Dartmouth…but after visiting Princeton, I realized that although I loved Dartmouth, I also loved Princeton, and didn’t feel as comfortable</p>

<p>Haven’t visited Yale yet, planning on doing so this summer/fall. </p>

<p>As for my SAT, I plan on studying my ass off for the one I will take in October. It’s soooo weird that I can’t do that well in math, because grade wise it is one of my best subjects (and besides, I got a 800 on the Math II). There are just some problems on the SAT I that I haven’t done in years, so I guess that’s what it is. So yeah, my SAT scores are essentially right smack-dab in the middle of the 50% score range. </p>

<p>And as for the ACT, the science section screwed me over, because I could have easily got a 34 composite had it not been for that science</p>

10

<p>SCEA. You have a great record but do you have something that will make them want YOU as opposed to someone similar. This is the challenge for students like you.</p>

<p>So SCEA? Tough one. Unless you have a certain quality/skill specifically desired by the target school, it might be a waste of the SCEA opportunity. I think the question is whether you might want to go EA anywhere else and then do an analysis of whether it’s worth it to eschew that opportunity for the opportunity here. Tough call.</p>

<p>Good luck whatever you decide and keep up the great work. You’re well on your way to a successful college experience no matter where you land.</p>

11

<p>A good record, impressive in range and depth for ECs. Definitely, bringing the SATs up would be very helpful. What might you do to bring national recognition? One of your strongest ECs is in your theater work. Is there some way to bring this up a couple of notches?</p>

12

<p>“One of your strongest ECs is in your theater work. Is there some way to bring this up a couple of notches?”</p>

<p>I doubt it, at my school, rising in the ranks in drama is much more about how much butt you can kiss than how much you can do. There is a slight possibility (very slight) that I may be a stage manager for the fall show, however I think the powers-that-be have already chosen the best brown-nosers.</p>

<p>And my HS’s theater department offers national/state contests for actors…but not for techies (we live lives of unappreciation :cry: </p>

<p>So to answer your question, no not really. I just hope that my recs are outstanding (they should be) and that my essay is really good</p>

13

<p>ohh ic thanks for the explanation. so of you don’t apply SCEA to yale cuz u think it is a stronger pool, then would you ED somewhere else? like is there a school that you wont regret EDing to and u for sure want to go there?</p>

14

<p>If I do ED to some school, I obviously won’t do SCEA to Yale.</p>

<p>If I don’t find a school that I like any more than the others, than I might do SCEA to Yale, because it’s non-binding.</p>

<p>My question is, giving my stats as they stand now, would I have a better chance at getting in by doing SCEA or RD?</p>

15

<p>Look at it this way: if you’re qualified enough to get accepted, you will. You may get deferred early, but you would still get accepted RD. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. If you get flat-out rejected early, I can 100% guarantee that the same thing would happen in the RD round.</p>

16

<p>rockermcr, you are probably right, but what I wonder is this:</p>

<p>At the beginning of the admission process, the committee has all the spots available to fill with applicants. After the EA round is finished, a good chunk of those have been taken up by EA acceptances. Don’t you think the mindset of the admissions committee would become stricter as spots filled up more and more. After all, they want to choose great applicants, but with less and less spots to choose them, wouldn’t logic tell you that they would need to crack down more and select only the very best?</p>

<p>idk, but it just seems to make sense to me</p>

17

<p>No, at Yale, the admissions officer’s mindset is to always select only the very best. Notice that, though acceptance rates change slightly from year to year, this is often due to a growing applicant pool. The number of students accepted during the EA round is very similar every year. I’m confident that most admissions officers have years of experience, and there really isn’t a chance that something as small as applying on November 1st or applying on January 1st would have a meaningful impact on the decision. I’ll say this again: regardless of when you apply, the final outcome will always be the same. (Exception: If something remarkable is supposed to happen between November 1 and January 1, such as raising your SAT score from a 1500 to a 2350. Otherwise, if nothing about you will change, nothing about your decision will either.)</p>

18

<p>i second what rockermcr said. i think the almost 2.5X greater statistical chance of getting in SCEA is very misleading. (i’d like to think) yale is not going out of its way to accept 700-800 kids in the early round–they take that many kids because they’re stellar and would have stood out enough to have gotten in anytime. nor would yale accept 700-800 kids just to fill in that many spots.</p>

<p>and about whether or not you should do SCEA: i say yes. you’re obviously competitive (SAT/ACT could be bumped up though not entirely necessary) so why not go for it?</p>

19

<p>I WILL be retaking the SAT one more time. I really hope to get a 2300+, because I will feel soooo much more confident about my chance at these top schools if I do…</p>

<p>Should I even send my ACT scores? Like my SAT scores they are solid but not spectacular for the Ivy League pool… Would it better my case to send them or should I just stick with my SATs (assuming they improve…or even if they don’t)</p>

20

<p>if your SAT scores come out better than your ACT scores, by all means don’t feel obligated submit the ACT score. yale changed the testing policy: it used to be that you had to send in every test you ever took, SAT/ACT inclusive; now, yale still follows score choice but only requires you to send in all SAT & subject tests OR all ACT tests.</p>