<p>hi i'm a jr who's still figuring things out. a couple things i dont get abt the EA/ED process:</p>
<p>1) Why do people say the early pools are stronger? Wouldn't they be weaker? Except for HYP etc, I would think that if you apply to a slightly less prestigious school the university would be a reach school for most of the people applying. Top candidates would be holding back in case they get accepted somewhere better. (Ex. Appyling early to say Michigan...great school, but not Ivy-caliber). </p>
<p>2) how big of a reach should your EA/ED choice be? since chances are so much better early, would it be best to shoot for a slight reach instead of wasting your EA app somewhere where you most likely won't get in (ie EA/ED to Wharton vs Michigan)?</p>
<p>I can answer #1. Most students who apply EA/ED tend to be strong students because they really want to attend a given school and it's possible that many of them worked hard for the 4 years of high school to get into ____ University. Furthermore, if a student knows what EA/ED, clearly the student is more advanced about colleges than the average high school applicant - and these students tend to be strong. Of course, saying that the early pools are stronger is all relative - it may be easier to get into your "match" school through EA/ED than your "reach" school - that's for sure.</p>
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<p>Top candidates would be holding back in case they get accepted somewhere better. (Ex. Appyling early to say Michigan...great school, but not Ivy-caliber).<<</p>
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<p>Do some more research, on this site, and at your guidance office, because this subject is really confusing. Many top candidates here apply early to Michigan AND to another top school, because Umich is rolling, and acceptance there does not affect your chance to apply early to say Harvard.
The composition of the early pool (very strong students vs students for whom the school is a reach) varies from school to school and situation to situation - some schools will have mostly kids who love the school who really want to attend, and are using ED as a boost; HY, because they are SCEA, have a number of very strong students in the EA group, who may or may not go on to apply elsewhere, etc.
You need to 1)Discuss finances with your parents, honestly and completely 2) Start learning about schools and try to find school that fit you. Then start learning about EA/ED and how it may or may not work for you.</p>
<p>I apologize if Michigan was a bad example. I have not looked into colleges in detail enough (I am only a jr) to uncover each of their specific policies. </p>
<p>I have done quite a bit of research into specific schools that I am generally interested in, but I was just a bit confused about this process.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help. Any more input would be awesome.</p>
<p>Well, I applied ED to Columbia. It wasn't my biggest reach on my list (3rd behind Stanford and Yale), but I found that Columbia was the best fit of any school for me. It had the political activism I wanted as well as the great academic opportunities and NYC. Over the summer between 11th and 12th grade, I did a summer program there and was able to compare it to my summer program the year before at Stanford (my 2nd choice). </p>
<p>I am extremely happy with my decision and I am thrilled to be attending Columbia in the fall. If you do a search in the Columbia forum, you will tend to find that students that are more well-rounded got in over those with much higher raw stats. </p>