I personally think both Harvard cohorts, REA and RD, are super competitive, but applying REA also communicates your personal choice and preference. By the way, Harvard recently defers a large number of applications vs rejecting them, compare nearly 80% REA deferral rate @Harvard vs 20% SCEA deferral rate @Yale.
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do you think it makes more sense to apply to yale rea then?
I am concerned for you that you seem to only have two categories, Reaches and “safeties”.
I think most high numbers kids doing a multistate search are well-advised to end up with a robust list of Reaches, Targets, and Likelies. Targets and Likelies are not what many kids seem to think of as “safeties”. They are colleges very carefully chosen to be particularly good fits for you, and thus that you would be excited to attend, but they are more likely admits for you than Reaches.
I note it is my experience in these discussions that many of the kids who only apply to Reaches and “safeties” end up attending a “safety” and are unhappy because they feel like there is a very large gap between their Reaches and that safety, and they feel disappointed they were forced to choose a college that did not really excite them because they failed to get into a Reach.
In contrast, while many of the kids who apply to Reaches, Targets, and Likelies end up attending a Target or Likely, they are usually not so unhappy because they ended up with multiple offers that all were compelling in their own ways, and they were ultimately able to choose what they decided was their best option.
Of course if you are in fact applying to carefully-chosen Targets and Likelies, great. I just wanted to make sure you had heard the case for doing so.
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But you’re not describing a rejection scenario. If Harvard wants to see how the RD pool shapes up, it will in all likelihood defer you for consideration with the RD pool. That’s not a disadvantage.
Harvard hasn’t typically eliminated REA candidates it considers credible. They defer a lot of REA applicants to RD instead.
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Assuming you can afford it, you should REA or ED to your top choice, period. The stats on REA acceptances and deferrals tell you how the schools approach their process. Yale tries to do more — excuse the expression — “weeding out” in REA compared to Harvard. Both schools insist their standards for unhooked applicants are equally exacting for REA and EA. Keep your eyes on what you want, don’t get sidetracked.
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Yeah, with REA/SCEA, I think the main point (at least for unhooked applicants) is to be able to shut down, or at least dramatically cut down, the remainder of your process if you are admitted. So you should choose the college which will allow you to shut down or cut down the most if admitted.
And if that doesn’t work, oh well, on to RD (and possibly ED2).
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Is Yale your top choice?
No
If you want to go to Harvard first and foremost, REA will “likely” give you two cracks at the apple - with a deferral.
A low percentage get in. A low percentage get rejected. It’s probable (but not assured) you are deferred but could be either accepted or rejected.
Even if you got deferred, you still shouldn’t ED2 anywhere - because if Harvard is your #1 and Yale your #2 - neither has a binding comittment.
You will be somewhere four years, day after day - this isn’t a game. You will get into many fine schools.
But this is life.
Let’s say you ED to WUSTL - and get in.
OK - but now you’re not even giving yourself a chance at the others. So what’s the point of that?
The affirmative action Harvard litigation discovery suggested that REA applicants had an advantage, after adjusting for hooks. The data is old at this time, but using common sense, REA is more likely to be advantageous vs detrimental. If we use the orchestra analogy, every seat is available to be filled during REA. By the time of RD, some seats will already be filled. This may be more of an issue for the “bassoon” player vs a “violinist”.
The major advantage of REA at Yale is you get sharper feedback. Getting deferred from Harvard is basically meaningless because so many get deferred. Getting deferred from Yale affirms that your application is competitive for almost all reaches.
I say REA Harvard and see how the chips fall.
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This is true but to OP not a reason to choose Yale. Your strategy is independent and you’ll be applying to the other schools regardless. And no one, not even Yale, can determine the outcome at other schools.
For the OP, applying REA to Harvard is the right course.
The point about REA deferred at Yale is that for the RD round, while the applicant still needs safeties/matches (assuming they had not yet gotten into a public EA or rolling) the ratio of reaches can be higher. A rejection on the other hand means the applicant should reduce the reaches and focus more on the targets. Stanford is similar where getting deferred is meaningful.
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In my view, your thoughts are reasonable regarding ED.
Most important, however, is why you are attracted to Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, WashUStL, and Georgetown. and whether or not you would be satisfied attending any of these 5 super-elite universities.
It is important to visit–if affordable–any school to which you plan to apply ED.
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I note of those particular colleges, I believe only WashU has both ED 1 and ED 2, and then Northwestern is the only other one which has ED 1.
So if the OP did REA Harvard, the OP would be giving up the ability to ED 1 at Northwestern, but possibly still could ED 2 at WashU, and couldn’t have EDed at Yale or Georgetown anyway.
Of course if the OP really likes Northwestern, that is a possible consideration. But otherwise–I would not view this as a high stakes situation.
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