URGENT Question regarding ED/REA decision.

College Search & Selection
1

Hi guys there.
It may seem late to ask a question such as “which school should I choose for ED/REA”, but I am a bit stuck here. So the case is this:

Stanford IS my dream school, been there, loved it. Initially, I considered it as my REA school. Yet, after quite a lot of consulting with my parents and counselors (especially my dad), they do believe that even though I REA Stanford my chances of getting in are low. Hence, I should save this “silver bullet” to another school. Hence, I turned to ED CMU (tho many of my classmates are also EDing CMU).

Yet, now just a week before the ED deadline, I hesitated. I do believe that compared to REA Stanford, my chances of getting into ED CMU is higher. I originally chose CS major but changed to Information System out of the competitiveness. If I got into CMU, I would happily go there; yet, regret will always lie that I could never have a chance to go to Stanford undergrad since if I got selected via ED, I would have to withdraw all other applications. Even though I also think that my chances of getting to Stanford are low, having a very small chance still means a chance to me.

It’s basically a choice between dream and reality. Any suggestions?

Some basic stats:
Nationality: Taiwan
Ethnicity: Chinese/Asian
SAT (only took once) 1530, 730E/W, 800 M
SAT Physics 770, Math II 800, Chem 800
TOEFL 115
G10 full honors, G11 5 AP (Chinese, Cal BC, Physics C, APUSH, Capstone) G12 3 AP (Con-Sci, Physics C, Capstone)
GPA 4.1/w, 92.2 numerical
AMC10 106.5, top 2% regional
AIME 8, top 2.5% regional
EC:
School Triathlon Varsity Team/ been on the team for 5 years (one main theme of essays)
Worked on a patent related to autonomous cars (specifically collision avoidance systems) for 2 years G10-G12, received a patent from the US and Taiwan (China patent pending).
Got Gold Medal and Silver Medal in Ukraine and Warsaw international invention competition (full names: International Salon of Inventions and New Technologies, International Warsaw Invention Show).
2y Internship at National Taiwan Unversity of Science and Technology working on topic of interfacial phenomenon (my prof. is one of the top names in his field)

  • Learned the theoretical principles behind Interfacial phenomena; Transport phenomena; Wetting phenomena; and Fluid mechanics.
  • Developed and refined a wide range of graduate-level research skills such as communication and interpersonal skills; critical/creative thinking skills; research management skills; knowledge mobilization; and knowledge translation.
  • Presented a poster of my work done in lab at 2020 Interfacial Phenomenom Symposium (local)
  • Had a chance to start working on a to-be-published journal
  • (one other main theme of essays)
    Technical certificates:
    Google IT Support Professional Certificate (In Progress)
    Lifeguard license
    Level C Swimming Coach
    Basic Life Support.
    For the essays, I would say the quality is not the top ones that would bring you tears but are moderate~high above average essays that can convey myself well.
    LOR: Basically no needs to worry about this part, as I believe I got strong~very strong recommendations.
    I’ll add more CV if needed.
    Great thanks.
2

Quick update: might it be a good idea if I put CMU Information Systems to RD, since its admission rate is already high (26%), and THEN REA Stanford?

3

If its your dream, then apply. Just realize that getting accepted as an international is very difficult. Also financial aid is considered when deciding who to admit. CMU is also a great school. What happens if you also don’t get accepted to CMU because of your SCEA application to Stanford? Would you be disappointed?

4

In my opinion an ED choice should be a clear number one, not some kind of strategic application. If you’re going to spend years thinking “what if I would have gotten in at …”, then ED is not the right choice. It doesn’t sound to me like ED is the right choice for you.

By the way, bear in mind internationals usually have a significantly lower admit rate than the overall rate to US colleges. To flip post #2 on its head, what happens if you are deferred from CMU ED, will you regret having applied there in the early round rather than at Stanford?

I presume you also have a decent list of match and safety schools?

5

Thanks for the reply, sgoap2.

I am not applying for financial support. I am not sure if my REA Stanford would affect my CMU application, but there is no actual way to know the answer to your question, sir.

6

Replying to @SJ2727

I would be disappointed since I believe that technically ED CMU IS where I would get the highest admission rate, but not that at the same time. This is because it means that I still get chances perhaps from RD Stanford or Berkeley.

I do have a decent list of match and safe schools.