<p>It is well known that early decision acceptance rates are significantly higher than regular decision rates, but is that due to universities being more lenient during early decision or that early decision pool is stronger than the regular decision?</p>
<p>Some schools will look more favorably towards their ED applicants b/c they know these students have definitively said “you’re my number one choice. If you accept me, I’m coming!”</p>
<p>This is of great help to colleges in planning and they can lock in some kids who otherwise, might get wooed away by other schools.</p>
<p>Many people believe that EA does not increase your chances with HYPSM, but ED does improve the odds with other Ivies/Duke/…</p>
<p>Nobody really knows. That’s the truth of it. Statistically speaking, EA/ED applicants are stronger because they feel that their applications reflects what they want without some last minute adjusting and scrambling. But whether that is the factor impacting the increased acceptance rate is unclear, at best. </p>
<p>Personally, I do not believe your chances of being admitted increase if you apply early AND you are a standard applicant (sufficient grades, ECs, etc.). Division I schools usually use that early round to admit recruited athletes (who are essentially in as long as they meet a certain criteria for scores) and legacies (who only have a slightly better shot than average at some schools, significantly better at others). So it really depends and no one answer can be correct.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. A legacy applying to U Penn–yes, absolutely. A “B” student applying to Elon ED rather than RD–again, clearly yes. Other schools have ED admissions rates that are quite similar to RD rates, so no advantage. And some schools don’t provide their ED rates, so you really have no way of knowing.</p>