<p>I would like to know if there is really an advantage to do ED/EA. Because I heard some people told me ED/EA are more compatitive than regular, may not have higher chance. Is it true?</p>
<p>If you are a good candidate for RD, it’s in your interest to apply ED/EA. If you’re not, there’s no point; it won’t improve your chances at all if you’re unqualified to begin with. It improves chances on the highest margin, and tends to exclude the lower.</p>
<p>If I am on the lower side of highest margin, is there a difference for me in ED or RD?</p>
<p>At some schools the difference between ED and RD are slim. Sometimes colleges recruit athletes for ED which can account for such high ED numbers but for a normal student this number may be realistically the same as RD.</p>
<p>With the colleges I am familiar with in the Northeast, there is no disadvantage to EA. The admissions usually are a little tougher than regular decision, but they don’t reject anyone. they just defer them. Some of the people deferred are admitted regular cycle. Therefore, if your app is ready, EA is great to give you more time to decide among your options. EA typically gives a student until May 1 to decide, by which time they would have heard from all of their colleges.</p>
<p>With the private colleges I know in the northeast, there is a major admissions preference for binding ED. Take a look at the percentages admitted in ED vs. regular decision - they are often twice as high. Unfortunately, some colleges fill one-third to half their class with ED. However, I hate ED because it doesn’t leave a student time to change their mind.</p>