“Alexandre, not true. Those people who apply EA or ED and get into their top choice would not apply in RD if the switch was made to EA from ED.”
But PurpleTitan, EA/ED responds no earlier than December 10. It is unreasonable to assume that applicants will wait until then to submit their applications to other universities.
I also disagree with the notion that switching from EA to ED or ED to EA will significantly alter the size of the overall applicant pool, or that switching from ED to EA will lower the acceptance rate.
“However, you’re wrong to assume that NU cares solely about lowering the admit rate above all else.”
I did not mean to suggest that private universities care solely about admit rates. As you point out, there are other consideration, including fit, desire to attend, academic qualifications, community involvement etc…But within all those, private universities definitely care about admit rates. If, as some suggest above, switching from ED to EA would substantially increase the applicant pool and lower the acceptance rate, I think most private universities would gladly switch to EA.