Hi everyone! I am having a hard time deciding where to apply REA/SCEA. I love Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and Harvard and need advice. I am really trying to decide, but I am having a lot of trouble.
Out of Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, where should I apply early?
I can post stats if that would be helpful.
Thanks for any and all advice!
@dolphin456, I don’t know how to keep this from sounding snarky, but I will give it a shot. Your question implies that you don’t understand colleges, how they differ, and how to decide which one is a good choice for you. The schools you mention (HYPS) are all highly selective and first-rate, but they’re different. My preference for Y for ONE of my kids has no bearing on your choices.
Please, no snark intended, go back and think about who you are, what you’re looking for, what makes you happy, what makes you thrive, etc.
This is akin to asking me what my favorite ice cream flavor is. This is purely a matter of preference. If you could hypothetically imagine having accept letters from all four, which one would you choose? Apply to that one for REA.
You’ve posted the same on all four schools’ fora. The advice is the same. They have many more similarities than differences (although you can’t beat Palo Alto weather).
I would ask you if you’ve been to all four campuses. That would also inform me how much your “love” is based on something real or simply their aura.
Stats are not helpful - if you’re admittable for any of these schools, you’re admittable for all of them. So though I can tell you whether you’re a candidate in the ballpark, I can’t say which of these will then be your best REA shot, nor can I predict the decisions of the ad com.
If you are looking for an admissions advantage at any of these, you’ve come under false pretenses. If there is any advantage in expresses interest REA/SCEA, it is absolutely MINISCULE. If you were admitted SCEA, odds are you would have been admitted RD in almost all cases. So, this being the case, decide which school if your top choice and use your REA/SCEA ticket there. Playing early action strategy seldom works for anyone. ED is a different story altogether, but as far as non-binding admissions goes, you just have to submit your best application and see what happens.
Good luck! Consider other non-ivy schools, the Ivies are not everything! If you want more colleges to consider, PM me with what you want to study/your credentials and I’d be only too happy to suggest some places that might be good fits for you.
@dolphin456 It will depend on what you want to study, your preferences in terms of location, campus and people vibe, weather amongst other things. I say try to figure out what it is you want in terms of all the things I mentioned, research the schools very well and also if possible visit them.
Stanford. Clearly. The rest can be safeties in the unlikely case you get denied at Stanford.
^ is right about the equal selectivity. Stanford only defers a small number of students (and has a pretty high admit rate for deferred students RD) as opposed to Yale which defers a lot. Not sure about the others. So, if you don’t have a clear first choice, and just want an answer right away that could be an option.
Doing more research yourself and visiting if possible will help you decide which school you are most passionate about - this will be key to an effective application and compelling essays. Each of those schools has their own strengths/weaknesses/culture. Dial down a bit more to figure out which one you are most compatible with and then apply, treating it as a reach school.
@IxnayBob I totally understand you. I meant more that I am truly stuck between deciding. I have visited 3 of the 4 and enjoyed being in all of their atmospheres. It’s just hard for me to pick “the one”.
Nowhere! Live on the wild side 
Just kidding, obviously. I think Harvard has the biggest differential between its actual acceptance rate and its SCEA one – that might be a compelling reason, depending on your point of view, to apply early. If you really can’t decide between the four (and I think you’ll be able to soon, after some good old fashioned soul-searching), then I’d go with statistics and pick Hahvahd.
That said, I think the “Apply-early-or-spontaneously-burst-into-a-pile-of-rejection-letters!” craze is whack. I was fed that rhetoric by my guidance counselor this year and all it gave me was unneeded stress (on top of being untrue: I didn’t have my application ready by November, and it turned out just fine. I got into all my top schools anyway, including three out of the four you mentioned). Moral of the story is that RD is really just as good, and you’ll have a shot at all of those schools in January no matter where you choose for early action.
post stats it would be helpful
It might be helpful to know that Stanford (unlike HYP) explicitly states that it prefers to make a final decision in the REA round whenever possible. In other words, Stanford defers relatively few people compared to HYP.
Here are the REA/SCEA statistics for the Class of 2020:
University/Pool Size/Accepted/Deferred
Stanford 7,822 745 701
Harvard 6,173 918 4,673
Yale Unknown 795 53% of pool
Princeton 4,229 785 Unknown
Sources:
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/12/first-admissions-to-class-of-20/
http://news.yale.edu/2015/12/15/795-early-action-applicants-admitted-class-2020
https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S41/86/66Q29/index.xml?section=topstories
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/12/11/9-5-percent-of-early-applicants-admitted-to-stanfords-class-of-2020/
So if you apply REA to Stanford, you are more likely to get a final decision in December than if you apply SCEA to H, Y, or P.
@collegedad13
Here are my stats:
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 36C (36E, 36M, 36R, 36S, 30W (For some reason a 30 on my writing is equal to an 11/12))
SAT II: 800- Chem, 800- USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.1 UW/ 4.6 W (Hardest
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank, however told I am at top of my class
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (5), AP European History (5), (took AP Biology, AP US History, and AP English Language this year)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, AP English Literature and Comp., AP Spanish, AP Calculus BC, AP US Government and Politics, AP Microeconomics, Community Service
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish and Latin Exams, Nation Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Gold Award (Girl Scouts), (hopefully National Merit Commended), Language Award, Book Award
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Captain for Varsity Girls Swim (this year and assuming next year), Boys Varsity Swimming team manager, president of 2 school clubs, Model UN, Human Rights Club, Student Govt. (secretary), work in laboratory in world-renowned hospital, Girl scouts
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguarding, camp counselor, swim coach
Volunteer/Community service: By the end of junior year (this year), I should have at least 450 hours.
Summer Activities: Lifeguarding, swim coach, Camp Counselor
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Relations/Affairs or Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 1,000,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
@aleaiactaest Nice username lol. I really like Stanford, but haven’t been able to visit and the acceptance rate is the lowest… However if I got in, it would be hard to refuse…
@T26E4 I’ve been fortunate to have toured 3 of the 4, but can’t put my finger on which one I want to apply to early. I really liked all of them, as I have for all of the schools I have toured. I don’t want to fall in love with one just to get rejected so I would be happy at all of them.
@astroknot Really? Everyone I know talks about how important the early round is and its kind of stressful. People are like “if you don’t get in early anywhere, you are screwed”
Why would they say that?
If you want to reduce the stress:
Obviously, if any EA or early rolling school gives you an admission, and is affordable, then you have a safety. You may be able to trim the rest of your list by removing any school that you would not choose over that school.
@dolphin456 Yes times a thousand. You really don’t need to stress. Of course, I think you should try to get an app in early, to help you sleep a little easier in December, but the difference between SCEA and RD is not nearly as critical as people make it out to be. I heard the EXACT SAME THING all year from everyone and, surprise, I survived. Getting in early is nice, but it’s not essential — you’ll have plenty of time in April.
And who knows, some schools might even let you know earlier. I had a friend who applied to three places early (count 'em: 3) and didn’t get an acceptance until the spring. Meanwhile I know of several SCEA-abstaining people, myself included, who had an offer or two by late winter. So don’t sweat it as far as choosing goes. The real tough choice will be after you get into all those places :).
@ucbalumnus people say that because they think its a lot harder to get in RD. A lot of people are saying that you NEED to apply ED
You really don’t need to apply ED! I said it already but I’ll say it again lol.