<p>If you want acceptance rates, EA's is lower than RD's... however you stand a chance of getting deferred then accepted (which is in fact what happened to me).</p>
<p>Overall, I think the acceptance rate of the EA pool is slightly higher than the RD pool (factoring in accepted deferees), but I believe that the reason for this is the more competitive early round, as students who apply early usually have strong enough applications to do so.</p>
<p>Apply early anyway, it doesn't hurt, it's nonbinding, and best of all you could find out earlier!</p>
<p>I was under the impression that applying EA does help a little bit, as EA and RD acceptance rates ARE similar, and that the deferred people from EA get accepted RD at about the same rate as the whole pool, which means that while the RD candidates have a 13% chance, the EA candidates have a 13% chance + .13*.87=.2431</p>
<p>I think the general consensus is that the EA pool tends to be pretty self-selected -- people who are already good fits for MIT. I don't think the mere fact of applying in the EA pool increases your chances, I think the type of people who apply EA are likely to be extremely competitive for MIT admissions anyway.</p>