Stanford SCEA or Caltech EA?

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I'm an international student; I want to do engineering in college.
As an international student, I am not elibigle for MIT EA, and I do not want to do any ED b/c I want to give MIT RD a shot (I know, it's extremely foolish/crazy)</p>

<p>Could you guys compare the admissions before Stanford SCEA and Caltech EA? What are some guidelines for me to pick which one I should apply early to?</p>

<p>Some people say Caltech is more number-based. I have good numbers besides SAT reasoning (m800, cr560, wr640), which I will be retaking in Oct. </p>

<p>Are there any suggestions on how I should pick which school?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>do you have a specific field of engineering in mind?
becuase Stanford and Caltech are both amazing engineering schools, but Stanford is better at EE and Caltech at ME (this may be debtable--but this is what I think mainly from what my dad tells me and he works at Caltech so I would like to believe that he pretty reliable)</p>

<p>I dont' know about Stanford, but again my dad told me that it is EXTREMELY hard to get into Caltech as an international. Where do you live? </p>

<p>And NO, Caltech is NOT more number-based. I know plently of people who had average SAT scores who got in becuase they demonstrated their love for science. </p>

<p>I don't think either Caltech or Stanford favors their early applicants, but next year--since Harvard and Princeton--no longer offers early, my guess is that those students will all go to Yale and Stanford. Thus, Stanford might be overfilled and Caltech might be easier. :)</p>

<p>So far I'm considering EE, but not quite sure.
I might go in Materials science/engineering, but I'm definitely not doing mechanical or theoretical sciences. </p>

<p>Harvard and Princeton taking away SCEA and ED is one of the concerns, I feel those ppl will more likely do Stanford than caltech.</p>

<p>another concern is that my counselor at school told me stanford is more well-rounded, while caltech's applicants are much more science/engineering focused. Thus, while I do well at math and science in our school, I'm considered a pretty well-rounded applicant. She thinks I can stand out in caltech's pool but not as much in stanford's pool. Any comments on that?</p>

<p>Furthermore, ppl have been saying how colleges dont want well-rounded applicants anymore. They want a well-rounded class. What should I do since I'm more of a well-rounded applicant but not extremely thriving (eg win national champion or something) in anything? The only national champion I won is the debate competition @ Taiwan. All my other awards are regional ones (in the US). </p>

<p>any further advice appreciated.</p>

<p>yes Caltech applicants are much more science focused. It seems like it would be better for you to apply EA caltech then. good luck with that! I might join you too ;)</p>

<p>i've heard rumors that caltech favors CA applicants just like Duke favors NC applicants. is that true? (perhaps not officially, but in reality it does?)</p>

<p>do stanford. you get a much higher chance at stanford that way.</p>

<p>u mean the well-roundedness?</p>

<p>hmm I think that MIGHT be true. MIGHT
about 2-5 kids get in every year from my school and since the freshmen class is only 250, I guess that's a lot. </p>

<p>and also, Stanford favors cali residents too.</p>

<p>any other guidelines as I pick?</p>

<p>it's such a hard decision...</p>

<p>I have to admit I think I'd enjoy stanford more than Caltech, but if applying to Caltech EA means securing a spot on 12/15, then it's a good deal too.</p>

<p>Early action is non-binding. You can apply to multiple schools EA.</p>

<p>but SCEA is,
the only schools I might apply early is Stanford and Caltech (the other EA schools are not on my college list)
so it all comes down to these two. </p>

<p>thanks for all the suggestions; any further advices greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>You won't get into Stanford.
You have a good chance at Caltech. (they won't mind your 560 CR)</p>

<p>You pick.</p>