Easier to be accepted EA or RD?

jrieu6 · 09-30-2009, 09:34 PM

I know college nowadays is pretty much a crap shoot, but I have been wondering about BC CAS's acceptance rate for EA versus RD. I really like BC but a lot of kids just as competitive as I am are applying (all top 10, in the range SAT's, good extracurriculars etc.) I'd like to apply EA so I can brief a hopefully sigh of relief, but every admission officer I've spoken to says it's actually more competitive...so you can see my dilemma: many kids from my school are applying EA..but I'd prefer to apply RD if EA truly is more competitive. I know more than one kids can get accepted, and plenty are defered, but I'm really unsure as to what will work best in my favor. My first term grades are still up in the air..but they will probably be B's and A's in all AP classes.

So, based on past experiences, is EA truly more competitive?

collegemom2009 · 10-01-2009, 01:40 PM

My D was in the same situation last year - BC was her top choice, and she didn't want to "risk" not getting in by applying EA - so she waited and was accepted (and in the A&S honors college) RD.

worried_mom · 10-01-2009, 04:56 PM

I don't know about other schools but at BC, the EA round is definitely more selective than the RD round. BC caps the total number of students accepted in the EA round and encourages only very strong candidates to apply early.

If you think your first semester grades will strengthen your credentials (raise your GPA, get A's in AP classes, etc.) then you should definitely wait and apply in the RD round. Although there are some deferrals in the EA round, only a few of those deferred EA are accepted later -- I think I've seen a stat of roughly 20% for that, but I don't remember the source.

jrieu6 · 10-02-2009, 05:56 AM

Thanks :]

I think I'll have a better shot at RD, plus, I have a feeling I won't be CAS honors like your daughter. And a deferral sounds rather risky anyways

collegemom2009 · 10-02-2009, 01:54 PM

Best of luck to you -

bca · 10-04-2009, 07:21 PM

Does anyone know where to find the average SAT scores for EA? I don't see it on the BC website? I'm looking for some benchmarks for what makes a very strong applicant.

XX55XX · 10-12-2009, 05:42 PM

bca, such a statistic is not readily available (I can't find it on BC's website, so I am guessing that they don't publish such information), but I do know several people who have been accepted EA at BC and their scores are generally in the 2000-2100+ range. I even met such a kid with a 2390.

sunny7 · 10-27-2009, 08:56 AM

My daughter was deferred EA and was accepted into the business school in the spring. She had very high SAT scores but GPA was a little low due to misspent freshman year. We were told that GPA has more to do with EA acceptance than anything else.

collegebound41 · 10-27-2009, 03:03 PM

^^BC offers mid year(or spring? is there difference?) admission

worried_mom · 10-27-2009, 06:07 PM

I think sunny7 was just saying that her daughter was accepted in the RD round (notified in March/April) after being deferred in the EA round.

sunny7 · 10-27-2009, 06:32 PM

Yes, that is exactly right worried_mom (and I was one, too!). My daughter's SAT scores were 2300 and she still did not get accepted EA, so we spoke to her guidance counselor, who had a contact in Adcom and there was an automatic "formula" cutoff for GPAs from her school; i.e., if hers wasn't over that number, a perfect SAT score would not get her admitted in the Early round. I thought this information might be helpful to some prospective applicants who are stressing about SAT scores for EA.

btw, she is extremely happy at BC, doing very well, loves the school and we couldn't ask for more. Her lower GPA in comparison to SAT scores disqualified her for Ivies, but already she couldn't imagine herself anywhere else.

Ny0rker · 10-27-2009, 10:18 PM

sunny, do you mind sharing her GPA or class rank? if not, that's fine

bluebayou · 10-27-2009, 10:39 PM

Don't forget that the individual colleges have different admission rates. In general, Arts & Sciences is the most selective. But, it receives a lot of female apps. In contrast, b-schools tend to be female-friendly.

iMac15 · 10-28-2009, 12:32 AM

At BC the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) has a lower acceptance rate than CAS.

sunny7 · 10-28-2009, 11:35 AM

NyOrker: Her school does not rank but her GPA, out of possible 110 due to weighted honors and AP courses, was 98 + over 4 years. That's what hurt her with the Ivies even though she trended upwards (107 GPA over 11th and 12th grade only). She was competing with kids who had near perfect grades in their schools' hardest courses for the entire 4 years. She did get waitlisted at one Ivy and U of Chicago, but chose not to wait.