Harvard says that applying SCEA will not increase your chance of admission. Your chances will be the same as the RD round. I believe Yale is the same, though I would check the website and call if you are still unsure. Don’t waste SCEA at these schools if you can’t get your ACT up to about a 32, as you plan to do. Even then, the SCEA is not supposed to give you an advantage, so continue to consider other schools for ED just as you are doing now. Good luck!
@nynycasino1234 I took the ACT in the middle of sophomore year with not much preparation. My reading comprehension is fine on these tests but the Math always kills me because it’s nothing like I study in class. I’m planning to study a LOT over the summer.
Course load: The top student in my class “only” took four AP classes this year. I don’t think it’s even possible to fit five into our schedules. APs aren’t offered to underclassmen but I self studied for AP European History. I’m expecting 4s and 5s on the three I took this year.
That sounds like a solid plan. Thanks @Sam-I-Am
So far my plan is
32+: REA at Harvard
Below 32: EA at Northeastern and a few other schools
S1 got a 29 sophomore year, and got it up to a 33 at the end of junior year without too much studying.
@dietcig you are competing against other URMS from prep school or other competitive school so if you are not recruited athlete,you need to boost your ACT.
Middle of sophomore low score makes sense. Work hard and see what happens.
No matter what people say you are not taking any Asians spots, you are your own competition and you are competing against other URM Kids for spots that are reserved for URM non athletic kids. If you are athlete, you have a different pool. Good luck!
By the way I am offering advice based on my very limited experience, I have a third kid applying to college in 2019, and I still have not much idea how it works.
legacy is more of an advantage early so apply SCEA to whichever one of H or Y you prefer. I’m a bit more optimistic in that a 29 for someone with two hooks is very good, as long as the URM is not just a check the box. You should still take it again and as people generally improve the second time. Good luck!
Re: 20
Regardless of what Harvard says, their EA admit rate is about four times as high as their RD rate. And athletes aren’t responsible for all, or even half, of that difference. So, yes, your chances are very likely better EA than they are RD at H.
I believe it’s most likely your legacy is only going to benefit you if you apply EA.
Here’s what the Princeton OCR report said:
We don’t need to debate race in this thread, but the OP should be aware that the universities strongly deny having quotas, reserving a fixed number of slots for any racial or ethnic group, or having kids only compete in their own racial or ethnic pool.
they don’t have quotas since they’re illegal, but they do have loose percentages which act as quotas. And here I’m referring to ivies, stanford a few others, and not STEM places like MIT, Cal Tech…
This thread is not about me but it is about @dietcig
Sorry to bring wrong topic. Keep working hard and good luck
Another statistic to look for and consider is legacy admits percentage in SCEA. I don’t know if someone on this board has that info somewhere, but that number compared to that of RD would be very revealing as to whether SCEA offers advantage to a legacy applicant like OP.
Anecdotally, Y seems to put more emphasis on legacy than H among the Ivies.
General update: I visited Harvard and Yale this summer. I’m definitely applying SCEA to Harvard because I don’t have anything to lose besides the cost of the application. I’d be happy at any of the schools on my list so I’m not too stressed about Early Action anymore. Yale is not on that list anymore. My mom wasn’t too happy to hear my decision but she’s relieved I’m not applying to Princeton lol
Well I hope they told you that applying SCEA to Harvard will not increase your chances however it will let you know by December what they think of you but most will be deferred to RD. Best of luck.