<p>So I know that everybody says that applying early is no different than applying regular decision at many of the top colleges. However, I've also heard that the higher early acceptance rates are due to stronger applicants, and the fact that a lot of students that fit institutional needs, like athletes, URM's, etc.</p>
<p>That being said, should I take more time to construct my application and just apply regular? Most of my application is pretty good, but I still have to take my SAT Subject Tests, and the only date I would have to take it before most early deadlines is the October testing date.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>You didn’t post any stats so I can’t say anything specific to that but EA/ED is advantageous. It does allow a university to construct their class but I’m not aware of any additional boost for urms.</p>
<p>My guess is that early admission is great for a highly competitive urm. Highly competitive urms are in short supply and usually get accepted to several competitive schools allowing the student to choose. Accepting one in the early rounds greatly improves the odds of attendance at their institution.</p>
<p>I don’t know of any policy in this regard but I’m making a fair guess at it.</p>
<p>In my experience with my 2 kids, Madaboutx is so accurate in his response. The URM’s that get admitted at Elite schools EA/ED are top students and would have got into the Universities no matter what their nationality. In most cases they are accepted at multiple Elite schools. Please do not be fooled into the myth of “high scores and being a URM will get me in”. Your entire resume will have to be ready to compete with all applicants. Be true to who you are and try to stand out without being outlandish. I wish you the best</p>