<p>does applying early increase your chances of getting in at all? I ask because according to usnews the acceptance rate for regular applicants is 18 ish percent, while that for early is 39 %. Is this difference JUST because of a more competitive applicant pool?</p>
<p>The threshold for admissions is even higher, since Caltech only admits a quarter (or so) of the class during EA.</p>
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The threshold for admissions is even higher, since Caltech only admits a quarter (or so) of the class during EA.
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<p>Do you know what percentage of the class applied EA, and were accepted in the RD round? I have seen it argued about other schools that if a substantial portion of the class is made up of people who applied EA even if they were only accepted in the RD round, that still indicates that there is an advantage to applying EA. I don't know that I buy the argument, but they might be right.</p>
<p>i heard that the RD acceptance rate is only about 5% lower than the EA</p>
<p>wait so what is the real EA acceptance rate</p>
<p>The point is that you gain no advantages in the admissions officer's eyes by applying early. If you are deferred you will be reconsidered during the regular round on an equal playing field with every other regular applicant.</p>
<p>Is there a subset of scholarships that are restricted only to EA applicants?</p>
<p>Kind of, but not in an "unfair" way. A few Axlines are awarded during the EA round, but the proportion of scholarships given early is typically smaller than the proportion of students applying early. Still, applying early sometimes creates an opportunity to be looked at twice in the scholarship process, so there is some advantage.</p>