I’m a student from NYS with ridiculously good test scores/APs and a hard courseload but only average grades and extracurriculars. I want a school with a strong academic focus, and for this reason UChicago is one of my first choices. But of course I would still probably pick Harvard/Yale/Princeton over U of C. I am thinking of two different strategies for the admissions process. My school limits us to 7 total applications, by the way.
<li>ED Princeton. If I don’t get in, do a usual mixture of safeties, reaches and matches - perhaps Chicago, Harvard, Swarthmore, Reed, Pomona, Georgetown.</li>
<li>EA Chicago. Assuming I get in (which given my school’s record with Chicago applicants is very likely), shoot for the moon and apply RD to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford and Swarthmore. </li>
The second one seems more interesting, but I would end up not being done with the application process until April no matter what. Also, I’ve heard that applying ED to Princeton can really boost your chances.
<p>With only average grades and ECs, I’d find more safeties, and I mean REAL safeties. Reach schools like the ones you have highlighted have tons of applicants who have great test scores, great ECs, AND great grades. It’ll be hard to stand out of that crowd with average grades and ECs. At the reach school level, ridiculously high test scores can’t make up for everything.</p>
<p>Add some schools at the safety level who would accept you solely on your high test score level. Otherwise your application process may not be over come next April.</p>
<p>they only let you apply to 7? interesting…
If getting into chicago is likely, then why use chicago as your EA school? I’d say go with plan 1, where you get the increased odds of ED for Princeton which is harder to get into. And then apply to all the others RD. Maybe make one of those other 6 a true safety.</p>
<p>When I say average, it’s a relative term. i have a 94ish average, which is actually not especially high by the standards of my school, but my school is a really good magnet.</p>
<p>If you really love Chicago, then just go for Plan 2. Don’t apply to Princeton ED if you’re just doing it to spite everyone and you would miss out an opportunity to see if you could’ve gotten into Chicago if you’re accepted at Princeton ED. Doing EA allows you to see what kind of options you wind up with.</p>
<p>pyroclastic, Assuming you have what it takes to get in (not guaranteed but in range) you should use this test to choose your EA/ED/SCEA school: Imagine that you are rejected in the RD round. Will you forever kick yourself for NOT applying early and giving it your best shot? </p>
<p>In otherwords, make an emotional decision and throw the rest of your strategy out the window. It won’t do you any good to achieve an EA acceptance to Chicago if you spend the rest of your life wondering if you could have been a contender at HYP.</p>
<p>My son’s high school also limited applications (8 in his case) so he had to think carefully about each choice. He got into his ED school so the rest was history. Had he been denied or deferred he would have re-aligned his other 7 choices to reflect more safeties. So it’s kind of a circular logic pattern. If you get into a super-selective early, then your list isn’t top heavy. If you don’t then it is.</p>
<p>This last year was brutal at the top, so I’d echo ellemenope’s advice to take great care in learning to love some true sure bets. Georgetown is not “safe” enough for anyone.</p>
<p>Also, how’s your financial situation? If you are relying on need based or merit aid then ED is not always a good idea as you are locked into whatever package the ED school offers.</p>
<p>It depends on how much you would want to go to Princeton. If you just want to see if you can get in, then I wouldn’t apply early there. It sounds like your motivation is offbase - but you seem to really like UChicago, so you should probably apply early there. If you get in (which you probably will) then you don’t need to worry about safety schools and you can apply to all reach schools for April and still have your options open. If you apply to Princeton ED and get deferred or rejected…well you have to do a lot more work, and you don’t even know if you want to go there!</p>
<p>I guess I did come off as a bit flippant. I’m truly interested in Princeton, not just for the name but for the academics and the culture. But I recognize that it could be hard for me to get in there. </p>
<p>momrath, I’m embarassingly upper-middle-class so financial aid isn’t really an issue (I have heard that U of C does some merit aid but I get the impression that it’s mostly for All-Americans who won the Intel competition and the Medal of Honor)</p>
<p>In the list I posted above, Reed and Pomona are my safeties. I realize that West Coasters might disagree, but these two schools have consistently accepted people with 85-90 averages from my (East Coast) school so I feel pretty confident about saying that.</p>
<p>pyro, you are really a gambler :). You may certainly get into Pomona and/or Reed, but neither is a safety (especially) Pomona! Both of these schools are selective in more ways than statistical. If you intend to sleep nights between December and April, I’d strongly suggest that you find a real “sure bet.”</p>
<p>At most ECs and total personality, profile, character count a lot. This is very true at Pomona and AWS. I’m not that familar with Reed’s criteria, but I would think that it tends toward the unpredictable.</p>
<p>Princeton and Chicago are both wonderful schools. You still have 4-1/2 months to think about it, but my advice is follow your heart and apply early to the one you want the most. After you make that decision the rest of your list/strategy will fall into place.</p>
<p>Not needing financial aid is actually a plus, everywhere.</p>
<p>No offense, but the way you speak about your own achievements and how you still expect to get into some of these top schools tells me your preconceptions might be a little skewed . . .</p>
<p>Remember, there are the “Intel competition and Medal of Honor” type people applying to HYPMS–and they don’t get in. A real safety would not be like a Reed or Pomona, but instead a school you could be sure you would get into without hesitation, yet still make peace with. (Maybe a SUNY? I don’t know NYS that well.)</p>
<p>A “high test score but mediocre grade kid” is thought of as lazy by some of these schools–which may be unfair, but that’s how they sometimes see these things. Now, I don’t know if a 94 is really mediocre, but you say it is . . . and combined with the fact that you don’t have any notable ECs–they may see you that way. There are lots of kids with 4-6 fives from APs who still get rejected and they have ECs to boot–I don’t know what a tough schedule at your school is though, so I’ll refrain.</p>
<p>I guess the best way to estimate your chances is to be honest with yourself: did kids from my school who were like me (good test scores, mediocre grades/ECs) last year make it into Princeton? Chicago? Am I the type that these schools have taken in the past few years? Am I a good shot, a maybe, or 1/20 at these places?</p>
<p>This is not a time for self deception; you owe yourself some real honesty.</p>
<p>The “smartest” thing would be to go for UChicago EA–it seems a reach for you, and EA would improve your chances. Now, I’m not always an advocate for the “smart” way of thinking over what you feel, and I definitely don’t know you–just trying to give you as much perspective as I can on a message board.
If you think you’ve got a shot at a place like Princeton, and you want it, it compels you to apply there, give it a shot.
If you’re just kinda “eh, it would be cool, but I also like Chicago or Swarthmore” maybe you should think about where to spend your “early app” a little better.</p>
<p>i guess it kinda depends on how much chances u stand into getting u of chic, if u think chances are still high (looking at the past record of ur school etc) even of RD, then maybe u mite go for ED to princeton, but im not too sure if ur chacnes are tht high at princeton, stilll nice to try tho i guess, but if u hav doubts for uofchic under RD, then id say plan 2 sounds better, afterall, u can still go for tht uber long shot at princeton etc after getting accepted EA at chic.</p>
<p>Beware of assuming admissions at any of these schools. Do a search for “Andi’s son” a very talented musician and top student with excellent test scores applied to HYP, Wash U, Swarthmore and Oberlin. Felt confident he would get in, kids like him or less, from his school, typically got in to these schools. He didn’t. Rejected at the ivies, waitlisted at the other 3. Aggressively courted the waitlisted schools, result, rejected. He’s taking a gap year.</p>
<p>I am pretty much echoing the comments of Ellemenope, Momrath and SRMom (srmom, I think that Andi’s thread should be required reading).</p>
<p>Coming from NYS, your biggest “competition” is going to be other students from NYS. At most east coast schools you must remember a pretty sizeable portion of the incoming class is from NYS (and the largest area within NYS will be students from NYC). If Princeton goes SCEA this year the pool will be bigger.</p>
<p>Your pool will be some of the Cream of the Corp students from some of the best publics and privates from NYC, LI and westchester county (you will definitley be running with the big dogs) some like Stuyvesant, BX Science & Hunterthat send quite a few students to Princeton each year. </p>
<p>Many in that pool will knock you out of the box by having stronger EC’s and better grades.</p>
<p>Since you stated that you are from an embarassingly upper-middle-class family, the bar is going to be raised because to whom much has been given much is required.</p>
<p>Have a good mix of schools including a safety. All in all if you don’t apply, you have a 100% chance of not being admitted.</p>
<p>I would go with Plan 1…you think a 94 average isn’t good enough!? More and beter EC’s could help though…
Since you believe you can get into Chicago, I would second the opinion to “have a good mix of schools including a safety”.</p>