Hi Everyone. I am a longtime lurker turned new member. I have read many posts regarding Cal Poly SLO early decision that said if the applicant is sure Cal Poly is their first choice they should apply early decision–and that applying early decision can increase your chance of acceptance? We went on a college tour of Cal Poly over the summer and the admissions counselor said that early decision does not improve your chances. Are there any instances where is does help? My son is applying to kinesiology, which I know is very impacted (and only accepts a small number of applicants). Wondering if it’s worth it for him to apply ED–or do only the very top applicants get in early? He has Cal Poly GPA 3.84, ACT 33 (math 35, english 31), extra math, language, science, good extracurriculars. Cal Poly is his #2 choice, with choice #1 probably a reach (UCSB).
If Cal-poly isn’t his #1 choice, then I would not recommend him applying there ED as it is binding. If he gets accepted, he must go, without knowing if he got into UCSB or not.
What the admissions counselor means is that Early Decision will not help a weak applicant get in, but it is technically a boost for qualified applicants as it expresses strong interest in a school.
Thank you. I guess I should have clarified–because UCSB is probably a reach because of GPA, he would like to apply to Cal Poly ED if he thought that it would help his chances. We are just hearing conflicting answers on whether or not this is the case.
I personally think that no matter what they say, it still at least helps a little due to the fact that it helps their yield and it shows that you are very interested in the school. What is your son’s UC GPA?
@smugpug Had 2 apply and accepted ED in competitive majors–bottom line in ED you are competing for an ED spot with a smaller pool of applicants and if fairly strong I think better odds. RD pool of applicants is likely much larger and often stronger than ED pool in popular competitive majors. Agree it should be #1 choice as ED is binding.
Thank you both for your input! UC GPA is 3.77 @rdeng2614
They accept a higher percentage of ED applicants than RD applicants. Whether or not that means easier admission or not is a different story because you never know how strong the pool is. I can’t help but believe ED has a little better chance as it helps improve yield. They KNOW and ED accepted student will attend. They don’t know an RD student will. Again, only apply ED if Poly is #1. Being accepted to a school ED and then turning it down for an RD school has resulted in students being rescinded at both schools. It’s a dangerous game.
@smugpug: although you son’s UC GPA is below average, his ACT is above the average for UCSB. UCSB favors high test scores, so it might play into his favor. They also put more emphasis on EC’s and essays, so again these might give him a boost. As all previous posters have stated if SLO is ultimately his #1 choice, then he should apply ED. I do believe that applying ED does give if a competitive applicant a slight advantage along with an applicant that may be borderline but is applying for a higher acceptance major: Environmental Earth Science, Dairy Science, etc…
Good Luck.
No, he should not apply early decision if he wants to go to UCSB. That is not smart at all.