<p>hey all, I have a dillema of sorts. I truly want to go to yale/columbia/harvard, but i feel like I basically have no chance, and maybe I should just apply ED to NYU and be safe, while also avoiding a lot of stress and anxiety. But then there will always be the "what if" question looming....so anyway, back to the original question, do you think I should just go ahead and use ED on NYU (a school I really really like) or should I go for yale/columbia/harvard? - and if so, which of those 3 schools would you recommend applying early to? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>GPA: 3.97 uw <a href="6%20AP's%20and%2010+%20honors%20classes%20by%20graduation%20so%20very%20very%20tough%20courseload%20at%20my%20school">rank=21/378</a>
SAT: 2090 (m710 cr700 w680)
AP scores (Biology: 5)
race/sex: white/male
Well respected public school in the suburbs of Seattle, WA</p>
<p>Extracurricular Activities
9th Grade Summer 2003:
Summer High School Basketball (JV)
Named Spartan Basketball Camp MVP
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-12 weeks total
Lute Olsen (University of Arizona) Basketball Camp:
-Mr. Stations Award
-Camp All-Star
Stanford University High Potential Basketball Camp:
Entering Freshman Academic Achievement Award: Mathematics
Entering Freshman Academic Achievement Award: Social Studies
(AAAs are presented to two students in each of the four primary subjects. A
total of 8 AAAs were given out in the entering class of 376 students)
9th Grade Year 2003/2004:
Freshman Basketball/16 weeks/15 hours per week
Team Captain Freshman Basketball
Received Freshman Basketball MVP Award
French Club Member
Home Room Representative (Class Council)
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-7 weeks total
10th Grade Summer 2004:
Summer High School Basketball (Varsity)
Spartan Basketball Camp Counselor/Coach (Grades 4-9), 5 days, 5 hours per
day
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-12 weeks total
Lute Olsen (University of Arizona) Basketball Camp:
-Mr. Hustle Award
-Camp All-Star
Point Guard College (Basketball Camp) at Cal-Poly Pomona University:
-5 days, 4 nights
-5 hours of physical activity and 3 hours of classroom learning per day
10th Grade Year 2004/2005:
Made Varsity Basketball Team (Lettered): 18 weeks/18 hours per week
Outdoor Education Counselor for 4th Graders of Ordway Elementary - 3 days, 2
nights at Millersylvania State Park
French Club Member
NHS Inductee and Member
Home Room Representative (Class Council)
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-7 weeks total
-Traveled to Las Vegas for Reebok Big Time Tournament (Spring Break)
-Traveled to Los Angeles for Adidas Invitational Tournament (Spring Break)
11th Grade Summer 2005:
Summer High School Basketball (Varsity)
Spartan Basketball Camp Counselor/Coach, 5 days, 5 hours per day
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-12 weeks total
11th Grade Year 2005/2006:
Varsity Basketball Team (Lettered): 18 weeks/18 hours per week
Outdoor Education Counselor for 4th Graders of Ordway Elementary - 3 days, 2
nights at Millersylvania State Park
French Club Member
Home Room Representative (Class Council)
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-7 weeks total
AP Biology Exam Score: 5
SAT Score: Math: 710, Critical Reading: 700, Writing: 680
NHS Member
Rotary Club Scholarship Student of the Month
BHS Knowledge Bowl participant
Elected NHS President
-Organized and presented the 2006 NHS Recognition Ceremony
12th Grade Summer 2006:
Total Package All-Kitsap Select Basketball Club:
-8 hours/week for practices and workouts
-Various tournaments around the state on weekends
-12 weeks total
Spartan Basketball Camp Counselor/Coach, 5 days, 5 hours per day
Legal Assistant/Intern at Otoroski Johnston Diamond and Golden, 8 weeks,
37.5 hours per week:
-Document Production and Management
-Database Maintenance
-Legal Research regarding Patents and Cases
Columbia University High School Summer Program: New York City: From Colonial
Outpost to World Capital An Urban Case Study, taught by Professor Andrew
Meyers, 3 weeks
12th Grade Year 2006/2007:
NHS President
Knowledge Bowl Participant</p>
<p>rs- i see no harm in applying ea to yale. its non-binding and allows you to look around at your other offers in march. but it also allows you to only fill out one app if yale is where you want to be and you get in.</p>
<p>by filling out recruiting forms- even if you don't want to play collegiate basketball will greatly increase your chances at each of the three listed ivys.</p>
<p>If you apply ED to NYU and get in, you will spend many years thinking "What if. . . " Don't do it. Apply to the schools you want to go to, even if you don't think you'll get in. The only certainty is that you will not get into 100% of the schools you don't apply to.</p>
<p>I'd take a look at the ivies and then make your decision. If you see all of them and still think NYU is far better for you, then apply ed there.</p>
<p>I had the same EXACT problem! I wanted to go to a top business school.
I could either be safe with NYU Stern ED or take a long shot with Wharton ED</p>
<p>What really help me reinforce my decision was the fact that NYU's financial aid can really suck and by applying ED you will get stuck with it and I DON't want to graduate with ALOT of student debt.</p>
<p>So, instead I'll apply Wharton ED and NYU RD.</p>
<p>If you're not 100% in love with a school, DON'T apply early. Even though you "really really like" NYU, you don't LOVE it... and they're notoriously bad with financial aid (if that's a concern for you). </p>
<p>That's not to say you wouldn't love NYU one day, if you were accepted RD and chose to attend... But it's good to have some options when the process is all said and done, especially if you aren't set on one particular school.</p>
<p>If you pace yourself throughout the application process, you won't experience a whole lot of stress and anxiety. Don't procrastinate right until the deadline, spend some time researching lots of different schools that are a good fit for you, etc. </p>
<p>I second the suggestion of applying EA to Yale, since it's non-binding.</p>
<p>You could just EA Harvard...it's nonbinding. Between Harvard and Yale from last year to this year, Harvard's acceptance rate went up slightly, while Yale's went down. So if you're stuck choosing between those two i would tell you to apply EA to Harvard since it's nonbinding and the statistics are slightly more in favor of you there. That's just what I think.</p>
<p>If op truly cannot accept anything but Ivy League colleges....</p>
<p>I would think said person would have a decent shot at Dartmouth or Cornell. If one had slightly higher SAT I scores, that would help significantly with chances at HYC, but if I were you with what you have (which is a lot of very good) I would apply to Yale SCEA, thats if you really want it as much as you say you do.</p>
<p>Do you have any SAT Subject Test (SAT II) scores? That's the only thing I did not see in your list.</p>
<p>i'm going to be honest and say that you have a wall of text. organize that stuff - don't just dump a huge list. I can make a carwash sound like a huge job-
fundraised money for soap
recruited volunteers
washed windshields
scrubbed tires
managed revenue
but it's really just a carwash.</p>
<p>Cram all tha bball stuff into 2/3 things, no adcom is going to want to see:
summer basketball camp
winter basketball camp
varisty basketball
basketball debate
basketball church
i love basketball...
two or three things will get your point across. 1000 hrs in 1 entry "basketball camp" looks better than 4 entries of 250 hrs bball camp.</p>
<p>fortunately, that legal assistant stuff shows diversity,</p>
<p>With all of the basketball entries (his only real hook in all of the stuff he has written and whoamg is right that no admissions officer would bother reading past the first paragraph so he definitely needs to organize)
I am suprised that OP has not been recruited any where or has looked into the possibility of getting recruited.</p>
<p>dude im not even gonna read all the replies. the answer is simple: if you know that your heart lies with harvard yale and columbia just freakin go for it. this is the next four years of your life. DON'T COMPROMISE</p>
<p>I completely agree with cowsprite. You never want to be in that situation regretting what would have happened if had applied to your top choices after all. You never want to ask yourself "could I have gotten in?" if its a school you really feel suits you. </p>
<p>After all, who knows what the top colleges are looking for every year. Just make sure that you represent yourself fully and honestly in your essays. Show as much enthusiasm as possible, even talk about specifically about what you imagine life would be like for you at that school. They want to find students that will fit in, so make them see exactly how your unique qualities fall into place.</p>
<p>i see where the op is comming from. on one hand, you want to get into one of your top choices. on the other, you dont want to have regret and the feeling of what if because you applied ED to a school that wasnt #1 on your list. the thing is if you plan to go on to an mba, nyu wont hurt you and you can go to the others later. also, if you want to do business, you know HYC dont have undergrad business schools right? i personally think you should apply H or Y (probably Y because Y RD is impossible to get into) EA and the rest RD. also, talk to the bball coaches of these schools and see if they want you on the team as a recruit or if you have a shot walk on. it could help alot at the ivys. my advise is to have HYC and NYU applications done by november 1 and to either redo your SAT or take 3 SATIIs in october and based on those scores apply ED or EA or RD whereever</p>
<p>on a side note, this whole thing about wanting to go to the place you like the best and being a good fit to me seems like it's mostly on CC and only in america. one friend i talked to that lives in india told me he chose the school he applied to ED by first picking his major and future carreer and then taking his scores and seeing which good school his stats matched that was strong in his major. he applied ED without worrying if he was going to be happy or would be happier at other schools. he just wanted to get into the best school he thought he had a shot at. so maybe the op should just apply nyu ED, (maybe) get in, and (maybe) have a fun second half of his senior year instead of worrying till april and may if he is going to college (but if he gets in yale or harvard EA he will be happier).</p>
<p>thank you guys so much for all the thoughtful responses..i really appreciate them. although i will most likely do EA to yale, it still feel almost feels like a waste.</p>
<p>i just keep thinking about how much it would suck if for some reason i got rejected from nyu after getting rejected from the ivies.</p>
<p>Enn, i'm not applying to NYU Stern, (at least i hadn't considered it), I'd just be applying to the college of arts and science.</p>