<p>So I was pretty set on applying EA to Yale, but I'm starting to have second doubts. Not about Yale itself, but about whether I should do EA or not. My friend (who didn't get into Yale, but got into Princeton) told me that from the EA pool, mostly athletes and people with huge hooks get accepted. She also told me that the downside to applying EA is that if you get deferred to RD, you are no longer "fresh" but are old news. I didn't think much of this, but then a friend of mine who is @ Harvard told me that her guidance counselor told her to apply to Stanford RD, when she wanted to do Stanford EA. So bottom line, is there any downside to applying EA to Yale?</p>
<p>Ok, I think that there is a difference between applying to Stanford SCEA and Yale SCEA. Have you looked over the results threads for both schools SCEA? It just looks to me like Stanford is waaay more willing to admit minorities and athletes that round while Yale still takes ALOT of those “academic-type” students. Let me phrase this another way. Stanford SCEA results were completely patternless for the school-focused students. I still cant believe that of the 4 2400s I saw (all had national awards) only one was accepted while URMs with poor ECs and 1900-2000 SATs were accepted (not saying they shouldnt be admitted, but it was clear Stanford liked minorities more than Yale). At Yale, you still get a vague trend in admissions where the academic elite are “normally” actually accepted.</p>
<p>Now, on to the part about “trade offs.” For me, the trade off is just the opportunity cost of not being able to apply to any other schools early. U of Chicago, MIT, Stanford, Dartmouth, and Rice are all schools I like, but I wont be able to apply to early. Additionally, I’m pritty confident I could get into Rice, Dartmouth, and U of Chicago early (though Rice and Dartmouth early are binding) whereas Yale is a crapshoot for anyone. But, hey, odds are Yale wont reject you or me …just defer us!</p>
<p>It’s harder to get admitted SCEA than during RD, but if you apply SCEA you are in no way hurting your chances of getting accepted. (SCEA deferrals are not looked poorly on RD.)</p>
<p>I will reiterate this advice: Apply SCEA if you have (1) no other schools to which you want to go more than Yale that have early action or decision programs, and (2) your application is as strong (or very close to it) as it will be by the RD deadline.</p>
<p>Ya…silverturtle’s advice is spot on.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you, I really appreciate it. Now in regards to my application not being as strong in EA as in RD, I don’t foresee this as being a problem. HOWEVER, since you can always send stuff in to update your application, would EA + deferral + updates be worse than no EA + just RD + no updates?</p>
<p>i would say neither is worse. in fact, i’d venture to assume that sending in an update after deferral is better (once again, i’m venturing lol) because it shows continued interest. besides, it’s natural to send in updates because you should be actively accomplishing things.</p>
<p>on a sideline, can you update your application after EA deadline and before decision day in december? i hear back from a few big awards just after november first.</p>
<p>Speaking of sending in updates to Yale, what is preferred- a cover letter with explanation? If applying SCEA, when would be a good time to do this? By the deadline OK? ahhhhh, stressful!
Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>typically speaking, i think the vast majority of applicants do NOT send updates between november 1st and december 15th.</p>
<p>CHAIR 7, good questions, and good idea. thanks.</p>