U Chicago EA or Cornell ED?

College Search & Selection
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<p>With this year's application season about to begin, I'm faced with a dilemma. As you may have inferred from the thread title, I don't know whether to apply to U Chicago EA or Cornell ED. The problem is the due to family circumstances I am not really able to travel, so I have only been able to visit Cornell. On one hand, I am sure I would like to go there, but on the other hand I don't know what other schools are like and U Chicago seems awesome. There is also, of course, the matter of getting in. Last year Cornell had an ED acceptance rate of 37% and an RD acceptance rate of 17%. They plainly say on their website the ED applicants are at an advantage. For a school that large and a difference that drastic, I have to believe them. This factor is especailly important because both schools are mid-to-low reachs for me (30%-50% chance or so I think).</p>

<p>My GPA is 3.75 (or 93%) unweighed. We do not have official weighed GPA but it would be 4.36. My school does not take honors/AP classes into account when determining class rank so my rank is much lower than it should be but still top 10%. My SAT score is 2290 and my SAT II scores are nearly perfect (4 tests, none below 790). EC's, recs, and writing ability are all what you would expect for someone applying to these schools. I am also first gen but I believe that's a minor factor.</p>

<p>Which option would be better? Discuss please :) I am cross-posting this on the U Chicago forum, the Cornell forum, and the College Admissions forum. I hope this is allowed.</p>

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<p>If I were you I would apply to UChicago under EA. I prefer keeping college options open.</p>

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<p>You could do both. Chicago allows its EA applicants to apply ED to another school. The downside, of course, is that you’d be obligated to attend Cornell if accepted ED. </p>

<p>I guess it depends on what you want. Chicago is great, but its very different from Cornell. While Cornell is in a small town, Chicago is a rural school. Although Cornell is competitive, Chicago has a reputation for being intense. Cornell is a bigger school, whereas Chicago’s atmosphere is more homey. Cornell has its niches (hotel management, etc.), and so does Chicago (economics, etc.). </p>

<p>Where would you fit in better? What do you want to study?</p>

<p>Chicago students typically love the place and would likely welcome your questions. Just go to the Chicago forum and start asking questions of current students.</p>

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<p>What do you want to study? That is the first thing you have to figure out.<br>
As oldcollegetry said, they have different strengths.</p>

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<p>Yep, Chicago, so far from the city :)</p>

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<p>^ While Chicago isn’t “rural” it is far [35-40mts] from downtown Chicago.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, don’t choose schools based on the acceptance rates.</p>

<p>And yeah, you could do both - EA and ED.</p>

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<p>^The campus is like 9 miles away from downtown Chicago. I wouldn’t call that “far,” given how large the city of Chicago itself is. It’s not right in front of you, but it’s not that far either.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that ED accept % is higher than RD accept % in almost all schools because people who apply ED are positive they want to go there and usually have stats more suited to that school (aka better than the average RD applicant). As a result, the admit rate is higher. Don’t apply ED just because of this percentage, because you will find the same thing at all schools with ED.</p>