<p>EA/ED admits at the ivies and Stanford include most of the recruited athletes, legacies, staff kids and development candidates. This is largely why the admit rate is so much higher.</p>
<p>These schools are not letting marginal students in because they apply early. It can be a boost for a highly qualified candidate in a crowded pool. Say an Asian top math kid from CA, or a high stats white candidate from a NYC prep school. In the RD round there will be so many who read just like them, good chance they won’t look as special.</p>
<p>As for rank being the number one factor, it always has been-it represents academic performance over 4 years in context. What could be more important.</p>