doublelifer

okay so i finished my application and everything but now i cant decide between EA or RD!
i have until sat to turn it in and all my school forms and stuff is already taken care of so its just a matter of checking which box and hitting submit.

okay so here are my stats:

Gender: male
Ethnicity: asian (filipino, if that changes anything)
State: Florida
Private Catholic School about 1500 students

GPA: as of junior year its a 4.14 (ranked 19 out of 364)
ACT: 33composite (30e, 34m, 32r, 36s)
SAT: superscore 640cr 800m 690w
Subject Tests: Chemistry: 780 Math 1: 710
APs: Junior year - Chem(4) Eng Lang(5) USH(4)
Senior year - Stats, US Gov, Macro, Eng Lit, Bio, Comp Sci A (this i'm taking online)
Honors senior year: Physics and Precal

Activities:
Piano - 10 years of lessons; i do competitions like four or five times a year (superior rating or top ten finish every comp); learn music theory; and i self teach myself contemporary songs and lyrical music (rock/alternative songs)

Hospital Volunteer / Habijax (Habitat for Humanity) Volunteer - community involvement year round (hospital during summer and habijax during school) doing both since end of 9th

Science Club - vice president senior year. been in since 10th

ZIP club (advocates committee board member) - school organization focused on drug prevention and education. advocates is sponsored by ZIP, they deal with helping freshmen adjust to high school. been in since 10th

Interact Club - community service club. been in since 9th

Spanish National Honors Society - tutor and treasurer since 11th

Soccer - club soccer. 9-10 (parents made me stop cause of grades). co-captain in 10th

Awards:
AP Scholar
Second Place Overall in Envirothon
Third Place Spanish Declamation in NE Florida World Language Festival
Piano awards
Excellence in Chemistry (highest grade sophomore year)

doublelifer

oh and i'm applying as a chemistry major and i got my AP chem teacher to write me a recommendation and it was really really good.
i also got my AP eng lang to also because he loves me haha and it showed

worried_mom

If BC is one of your top choices and you are eligible (not applying ED or SCEA elsewhere), I'd say go for it -- apply EA! Your GPA, class rank, and test scores are excellent and you have community service, ECs, and awards on your resume, so I think you are clearly a strong candidate.

scottj

Dear doublelifer : Your SAT critical reading score is below the midpoint for admission at BC which throws an immediate red flag on your application for early admission. Your ACT scores are more in keeping with a top quartile application. The question you should be asking yourself is simply whether or not Boston College is your absolute number one choice from your selection of colleges? Is there some place else in your list that might seem a stretch that is secretly your personal passion? What is your heart telling you? If there is no place else you could see yourself attending college for four years then an early application despite the risks is your correct choice.

doublelifer

worried mom and scottj: thanks for your responses! BC is definitely my number 1 choice! i went to visit this month and it was really awesome! and thats why i had a lot of trouble deciding ea or rd because i want the best chance possible. i'm really scared of getting rejected ea cause of the competition.

so scottj is my cr really gonna hinder my chances? and if so, is there anything else that will hold me back as well?

scottj

Dear doublelifer : As we have written to many applicants, the pool varies from year to year although the movement is like an ocean - it changes but you really do not realize it until it has passed you! (No, this is not viable prose to be used in anyone's essay!)

Personally, I think that applying EA with a below midpoint score presents some level of risk, but your risk of outright rejection seems to be virtually nil with an ACT composite of 33. There is no doubt that your application is a fit for the overall community. Our recommendation is that you follow your passion and apply as an early action candidate.