I am new to this site and did not realize there’s a Chance me format that I should have followed. Please feel free to comment. I’m new at this and appreciate all of your advice. I’m starting to feel nervous about which school to apply ED. I want to make the best possible decision.
The Ivy League schools are quite different from each other (at least across all 8 schools). Other comparable schools such as MIT and Stanford are somewhat different again. You should research all of them and figure out which one is the best fit for you. Would you rather be out with the cows at Dartmouth, staring down into gorges covered in 6 feet of snow at Cornell, in a big city at Harvard, or in the middle of an even bigger city at Columbia?
Also, I wouldn’t apply ED unless you are fine being full pay (which might or might not be true with a $250,000 annual income).
I might add: Your stats are excellent and applying to Ivy League schools makes sense, but also have a couple of safeties.
Thank you DadTwoGirls, I really appreciate your advice. I have visited all of the ivy league schools and honestly would be honored and happy at any of them. My parents and I discussed the financial situation and they are prepared to pay the full tuition, so I don’t want to lose a great opportunity with ED. I’m disappointed that I didn’t score higher on my AP’s but at the same time I was told that the AP scores are not as heavily weighed (and intend to report them all).
HYP (and S and MIT) are EA schools (HYPS are REA). That may be a better route than ED, in which case you are committed to that school if you are accepted. I would only do ED if that is your clear first choice. ED probably does give you a slight admissions boost (greater than EA, if EA even gives you any). Your academic stat’s are high enough that you should definitely EA or ED a top school. Also as a backup, if you live in a state with a good flagship, especially if it has a good honors program, I’d apply there early. Generally, the EA and ED schools allow you to apply early to a public school (you need to check the restrictions by school)
If your goal is purely to maximize your chances of attending an Ivy League school–ANY Ivy League school–then the most rational course of action, statistically speaking, is to apply ED to Cornell.
If, on the other hand, your goal is to gain admission either to the Ivy that you have your heart set on or the one that would provide the best match for your academic and career interests, then you’ll need to provide additional background information about yourself before you can receive more pertinent advice.
@BKSquared Thank you for your advice. I’m applying early to my state school (and a few other state schools) because it has a good honors program and merit based scholarships. I know someone at my high school who applied EA to Harvard, was rejected and ended up at Georgetown which is a great school but was not her top choice. I don’t know if I’m willing to waste an EA on HYP where the early acceptance rate is not that much greater than RD. What do you think?
If Cornell is your least favorite of all why would you apply ED? That would be saying if you got into Cornell you would pull all your other applications and go there.
@123Mom456 It is my least favorite but still would be better than #9, #10, etc… I think the RD acceptance rate would be nearly impossible for me to get in to the ivy leagues.
Your stat’s are competitive for the top 3 schools you listed. How do you feel about your essays, LoR’s and EC’s (can you demonstrate depth of commitment, leadership, results), and will your essays and/or LoR’s back that up? If you feel good about those, I wouldn’t apply to one of your bottom ranked 3 schools ED. There is probably some boost, but if you get in, you will always wonder about HYP or the schools ranked higher. If you get into one of HYP EA, your RD list shrinks dramatically. If you are deferred, nothing really has changed. If you are rejected with your stat’s, then there may be something wrong with your essays and/or LoR’s that you might be able to adjust before the RD deadline.
@BKSquared My LoR’s are excellent from my AP Biology and AP Calc teachers. I have a really awesome relationship with both of them, meet with them regularly and am confident that they will write the best letter on my behalf. I am so truly grateful to both of them. ECs are all there- I’ve held leadership positions and have made positive impact in my community through various roles. My essay is still being edited but I feel really good about it.
I never thought of myself at the top 3 HYP schools - I’m scared of losing what I can grab while trying to reach for too much. If I get deferred, I will lose my shot at my best chance of getting in.
I think you might be overestimating the value of ED. The higher admissions rate for ED (and EA) needs to be considered in light of athletic recruits, other super hooks (e.g. child of major donor/famous/political leader) and the generally superior applicant pool of ED vs. RD. Your current academic stats probably put you at or above the median of applicants, even at HYP. While there are no guarantees that you will get into any of your top 8, would you be satisfied with getting in number 8 without knowing if you could have gotten into 1-3, or even 1-7? Let’s put it another way, there is a difference if you rate H 100/100 and C 98/100 vs H 100/100 and C 85/100.
I disagree with your statement that getting deferred from ED would lose your shot at your best chance of getting in. I do agree that the value of ED is overestimated. You’ve got a shot at each of them but don’t be surprised if the results don’t appear logical. Why did I get into H but not C? Your best bet is to play the law of large numbers and apply to them and see where you get in.