Should I Apply To Stanford Restrictive Early Action TKG

Should I Apply To Stanford Restrictive Early Action Stanford University is one of the best schools in the world. Located in central California between San Francisco and San Jose, the Stanford acceptance rate is so low that they stopped publishing it. With so low of an acceptance rate, how do you get in? Typically, one of the best ways to raise your chances of getting into a top school â€" if you have the grades and scores â€" is to apply Early Decision (ED). Schools prioritize ED applicants, so ED acceptance rates are traditionally significantly higher than Regular Decision (RD), or even Early Action (EA), acceptance rates. But Stanford doesn’t have an ED admissions program, so that avenue isn’t an option. What Stanford does have is a less-common admissions program: Restrictive Early Action. Restrictive Early Action (REA) provides applicants with an opportunity to submit their application early without agreeing to attend if admitted. However, they do have to agree not to apply EA, REA, or ED to any other school. There are some exc eptions, such as for schools that offer non-binding rolling admissions, but the general rule is: if you apply to Stanford REA, you are not applying early anywhere else. If you gain acceptance REA, you are not bound to attend Stanford. Additionally, you do not have to decide whether to attend until May 1st. This means that you can apply RD to other schools and wait to make your final decision until you know your full slate of options.    Since applying early is typically seen to raise the chances of admission, using REA as a way to boost your likelihood of acceptance to Stanford may seem like a logical conclusion. But it may not be.    Stanford says that they do not give special preference to those who apply REA. They go so far as to say that most of the students that are admitted apply RD.   Do we believe this? Yes and no.  Yes, we believe their core numbers. Stanford does offer admission to more RD applicants than REA applicants, but that doesn’t mean that they are offering ad mission to a higher percentage of RD applicants. If far more people apply RD than REA, more acceptances RD doesn’t necessarily mean a higher acceptance rate RD. We also believe them when they say that they do not purposefully give preferential treatment to REA applicants. However, there’s a psychology of scarcity at play as well. When there are more seats open, it is, in some ways, easier to say yes. As seats fill and the number of available ones dwindles, saying yes may well become more contentious â€" which is why it’s good to get applications in early. Even if sending an application in early doesn’t guarantee it will be at the top of the pile when they start reviewing, it may be worth a try. The number of applications submitted to Stanford has nearly doubled since 2008, while the number of seats available has stayed the same. Anything that you can do to be towards the top of the pile (within ethics and reason â€" so basically just submitting early) is a good thing to try. This doesn’t make a resoundingly solid case for students to apply REA, though, so why does Stanford offer it as an option. Well, they receive over 45,000 applications. If they do not accept a version of early admission, they would have to read and review all of them in a very short period of time. That is pretty absurd, so accepting applications early is a way of spreading out their load for applications. The final verdict: if you are 100% set on Stanford, getting your application in early can help you psychologically and may help you statistically â€" but no promises. If you are not 100% set on Stanford, though, applying REA means giving up your opportunity to apply ED to a school that does give preference to early applicants. This includes many schools analogous to Stanford in selectivity and prestige.  Applying to Stanford REA may help you out, but you’re also giving up a significant playing card. It is only something you should do if you are an academically competitive app licant, and you are sure that Stanford is your absolute first choice.  If you’re not sure where to apply and when, send us an email. We specialize in crafting strategic college lists that ensure a perfect fit.