<p>I see a bunch of people asking if they are qualified (not exactly qualified, but it's the best I could come up with) to apply to SCEA. What makes it more beneficial to apply RD and SCEA? I understand that you have more time to work on the app in RD, but, assuming the application would be exactly the same for both, why wouldn't you just apply SCEA? Wouldn't the demonstrated interest help your chances?</p>
<p>If you wanted to apply anywhere else EA, you’d have to apply to Stanford RD. My S was considering Stanford, but decided he wanted to apply to three other top EA schools that he a) liked more and b) felt he had a better shot at attending. </p>
<p>Stanford defers VERY few people to RD; if you put all your eggs in one basket and get rejected, it can be hard getting motivated to do the rest of your apps in late December.</p>
<p>Ah, I can understand the multiple EA schools in your son’s case. In mine, however, the only other school that offers EA is MIT (the rest are ED, and I can’t commit without financial aid offers first).</p>
<p>The motivation would be tough, too.</p>
<p>But what I mean is how the chances of admission works on SCEA vs. RD. I don’t understand why, in some cases, RD would be preferable when it comes to those chances.</p>
<p>My (somewhat unsubstantiated) opinion from meeting and talking to people accepted early versus those accepted regular is that the quality of applicants accepted early tends to be higher than those accepted regular. I think there are certainly middle-of-the-road applicants that might have been accepted in the regular round but were rejected early due to the overwhelming number of extremely qualified applicants that apply early and Stanford’s tendency to defer very few people. My advice would be to apply early only if you are sure you are a very strong candidate. Otherwise, wait a few extra months because you will probably have better odds in the regular round. It is counterintuitive, but it is what I have gathered by talking to a lot of other current students.</p>
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Stanford defers VERY few people to RD; if you put all your eggs in one basket and get rejected, it can be hard getting motivated to do the rest of your apps in late December.
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<p>As someone who did exactly that, I can say that the rejection was extra motivation for completing my applications in late December, not a hindrance thereof. Conversely, had I been accepted, I doubt I would have cared much about any RD applications.</p>
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<p>And to say why this actually makes a lot of sense, let me comment that the process is holistic, which means there are no score cutoffs or objective measure determining whether you are accepted or not. And, let me say that the people conducting admissions are human beings, at least so we are told. If Stanford were inclined to defer many applicants, there would be little danger, but if they’re inclined to reject many in the SCEA round, obviously since human beings are looking at your application along with several others, they are certainly influenced to a large extent by what they’ve seen, and rightfully so, as ultimately their job is to select from within the applications received. If you don’t feel like you’re the kind of student Stanford is likely to accept, then they may just toss your application aside when overwhelmed with many of the choicest applications, whereas perhaps there’ll be a little more due consideration given once the regular pool is being considered. </p>
<p>Had the process been rigid, there would be no danger regardless of when you apply, but when humans are making an ultimately subjective decision, you’d better be cautious when they actually see your application.</p>
<p>amciw,
In the EA round, S1 got two acceptances (to his #1 and #3 choices) and a deferral. We were VERY thankful he had already sent his apps off to the one RD he really cared about (his #2) and the flagship (financial/merit $ option). He dropped three from his list and sent out two more RD, but his heart wasn’t in it. </p>
<p>OTOH, we wanted to see how the $$$ would sort itself out.</p>
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<p>Ever since Harvard and Princeton removed their SCEA, many applied to Stanford’s and Yale’s SCEA, but only one, where their main targets were Harvard and Princeton. At the RD, they usually applied to the rest of HYPS. The quality of the applicants should be about the same, just you have more to apply RD. I see many HYPS cross-admits admitted at RD.</p>
<p>I concur with frog139. Based solely upon observations of the class of 2013 admissions from my neck of the woods, I would discourage applying SCEA unless you (1) are an exceptional candidate who would also bring diversity of culture/race/nationality to the school, or (2) are ridiculously off-the-charts in terms of your qualifications. It’s easier to stay in the running in RD.</p>
<p>Personally i applied to Stanford RD because 1) i wanted more time to work on my essays. My stats aren’t the best so I knew my essays had to be great in order to have a shot 2) I didn’t want to ruin my christmas by getting rejected and then I’d have no motivation to apply anywhere else 3) the best of the best usu apply early and compared to them, id def get rejected.</p>