I was
thinking about possibly applying to Yale SCEA (Yale and Vanderbilt are both my top choices right now, so I haven’t completely decided.) Anyways, someone said that Yale’s SCEA was bogus and it would be better to use your early action/early decision somewhere else. Is this true?
What do you mean bogus? It’s plain what its purpose is – for a select few students, who feel their first six semesters’ work is sufficient and who can prepare the rest of the app package by Nov 1, they can apply SCEA and get a admit/defer/reject decision by Dec 15. That’s the whole of it. For some people, that’s a great opportunity. For others, it’s not that attractive.
Nothing bogus about it. No promises of higher admit – only an early evaluation. You want it? Go for it. You don’t want it or your app isn’t ready, then let it pass.
Vandy has ED – so if you apply, you’re 100% committed. Does ED at vandy confer an advantage? I dunno. But SCEA or ED is only for your absolute first choice. You have two – so you have no clear #1 and thus, I would advise against ED Vandy and only non-binding SCEA Yale if you’re stuff is ready in time.
I agree with T26E4, and would add that if Yale is your #1 choice, don’t underestimate the benefits of knowing where you’re going to college early. DS applied SCEA to Yale (and also to UMichigan as a “match”), was accepted, and spent a good part of the year helping friends deal with the anxiety of applying, waiting for results, making choices, etc. He had the more pleasant senior year.
ETA: But yes, I don’t think there is much of an acceptance bump from SCEA, except that the AO knows you are somewhat more likely to attend and that you can get your stuff together a bit early (which can be an accomplishment for teens).
If Yale is your first or second choice, SCEA is a good route. Like IxnayBob said, my D was done with her college search on December 16. One application and done. If she had not gotten in, she had other applications in varying degrees of readiness to be submitted by December 31.
Even if you have to wait to see what other schools financial aid packages look like, you will have the luxury of having the admission under your belt (if you get in) which waiting for the other schools to answer.
My kids also got in SCEA, and it sure was nice. But like Tperry’s, they were legacies, so that may have something do with it–it certainly impacted their decision of where to apply early.
Mine got deferred after applying SCEA. That was torture. But maybe that was a tipping point in RD knowing that it was her first choice?
Here’s a good rule of thumb on College Confidential: Any poster that has under 1,000 posts and makes an outrageous claim, such as the one above, doesn’t know what they are talking about.
SCEA is not for everyone – it is SUPER competitive. Having been through this with both my kids, here’s my advice:
If you have a 2200+ SAT, with lots of AP classes and AP tests (all with 4’s and 5’s) and an unweighted GPA above 95 (on a 1-100 scale) or an unweighted GPA of 3.9 (on a 1-4 scale), and are ranked in the top 1% to 3% of your graduating class, then you should apply to HYP or S in the SCEA round. Pick a school, whichever one is your favorite, and apply, as the odds tend to be better for high-end students in the early round, no matter what Admissions says otherwise.
If you have a sub-2200 SAT or the ACT equivalent, and are ranked in the top 4% to 10% of your high school’s graduating class, then you should NOT apply SCEA, as there is a high probability that your application will get buried by the polly-perfect’s of this world, and there is a high probability you will be deferred.
Instead, student’s with sub-2200 SAT’s, and ranked in the top 4% to 10% of their graduating class should apply to a broad range of non-binding colleges early and apply to HYPS in the RD round.
Full Disclosure: My daughter applied to Yale SCEA with a 97.8 unweighted GPA from Stuyvesant High School. She was the salutatorian of her class (academically ranked 2nd out of 860 students, all of whom had to pass an SAT-like test to be admitted to the high school), 8 AP’s (all 5’s), 6 SAT Subject tests (all 750+), and a 34 ACT. She was deferred from Yale and then rejected. She applied to Harvard and Princeton in the RD round and was waitlisted at Princeton and accepted to Harvard.
My son applied to Yale SCEA with a 96.7 unweighted GPA from Stuyvesant High School (academically ranked about 20th in his class of 900 students), 8 AP’s (all 5’s), 8 SAT Subject tests (all 750+), and a 36 ACT and was accepted. He applied to Harvard and Princeton in the RD round and was accepted to Princeton and rejected from Harvard.
Personally, it’s helpful for me because I might not submit other applications after receiving my decision in order to save some money. (Always good not to be a huge financial burden on the family.) Yale is my dream school, so it’s also really great to find out whether or not I got in early. Reduces stress!
Yale also fully discloses the fact that the admission rate during SCEA is not that much higher than regular, so that is not a good reason to apply SCEA.
@gibby Thank you for the information! I don’t quite match either description. My AP’s, grades, and rank are very good (4.0, 10 AP classes, and top 1-2%), but my SAT is on the borderline (super score of 2200). I believe my EA’s and essays could be a positive tipping point. Do you think it’s still worth a shot for me to apply SCEA?
@yaledreamer97 ^^ Looking over your chance thread, with SAT scores of 2050 and 2180 (even though you have a super score of 2200), I would think there is a likelihood that you might be deferred in the SCEA round due to your test scores, as Admissions will probably want to compare you to a larger applicant pool.
That said, as Yale receives thousands more applications than they have spots for in their freshman class, Admissions uses a student’s teacher recommendations, essays, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR) and interview report to choose one high performing student over another. As you haven’t listed those items (nor should you), it’s really anyone’s guess as to what will happen when you apply.
What good is an early decision from Yale by 12/15 when many other schools are due by 12/1 and the most likely decision from Yale is not yes.
^^ Those are the chances an applicant takes by applying SCEA. The other way to go – and one that I would recommend to @yaledreamer97 – is to apply to a broad range of non-binding schools in the early round, and apply to HYPS in the RD round. In that way, they would have at least one acceptance in their back pocket come mid-December and still have a shot at HYPS. See: https://njsca.org/pdf/fall_2012_schools_with_EA_plans.pdf
There are many schools, and let me reinforce that assertion MANY schools with better programs in many specific majors than HYPS. EICD - Elite Institution Cognitive Disorder. Cast a wide net and find your home where you will be at the top of your class. Don’t worry about the bumper sticker.
In terms of the difference between early and RD admissions Yale SCEA has a similar statistical benefit as many ED programs. If you are a strong enough student to have a reasonable chance of being admitted, your friends advice or comment is flat wrong. Gibby’s post should be quite helpful
The person who said that Yale SCEA was bogus just finished sophomore year in HS. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t an “expert” opinion (facepalm).