Hello,
I was messing around with Parchment (for those of you unfamiliar, it gives you a rough admission percentage through stats), and my Boston College chance of admission was 69%. I then checked I was applying EA, and my chances went to 80%. I researched online, and the school notified that EA review process is more selective than RD. I now am unsure if I should apply EA, or wait to RD to increase my chances? Just wondering if someone has the same question, or any pointers. Thanks!
Dear adricheer8897 : Unfortunately, the numbers from year to year vary for EA and RD round acceptances, but the short answer is that you should apply during the EA round if you are relatively sure that you would accept a Boston College offer should one be extended. Deferred candidates from the EA round face similar or worse odds when moving into the RD pool. If you read any one of the acceptance threads here on the Boston College College Confidential board, you will see more than half of the EA deferred candidates find themselves on the RD waitlist.
Let’s offer some more detailed numbers which can be refined as needed. Suppose that there are 8000 EA applications and 24000 RD applications in a given year (Boston College did cross the 30,000 application level again this year despite the supplemental essays). Now, suppose that from the EA pool, 20% acceptances are extended (1600 candidates), 20% are rejections, and 60% are deferrals to the RD round.
If approximately 7800 total offers are extended for 2250 freshman spots, this would imply that 6200 offers of admission would be made in the regular decision round from 24000+4800=28800 applications. These figures would result in a 21.5% acceptance rate. Now, if the EA acceptance rate goes to 30% (2400 candidates) and the deferrals are set to 50%, these same figures would give a 19.2% acceptance during the RD round (5400/(24000+4000)). As you can see, subtle changes can tilt the EA vs. RD debate. Further, we have ignored yield rates throughout this discussion which adds another level of complexity to the calculations.
So, in closing, do not try to figure whether your chances are better for acceptance during EA or RD. Instead, make the decision based on whether Boston College is indeed your top school.
Thank you immensely, @scottj! The stats really aided my understanding of the debate.
@adricheer8897 In the effort of further understanding, we do not view an application during Early Action as a higher level of interest. We do not track demonstrated interest, nor do we begin to assume such during one evaluation period over another. You are correct that it is more difficult to be admitted during Early Action than it is Regular Decision. If weighing EA vs. RD, we encourage you to think of it like this:
During EA, we know only what courses you are taking senior year, and the last SAT or ACT we could view is from October. If you wish to a) prove a high level of performance during senior year courses, through your midterms and/or b) increase your test scores with November or December exams, applying Early Action will not allow you to do so. Our acceptance rate is nearly equal between EA and RD (lower during EA than RD for this incoming class), so there is no advantageous time to apply; instead, you can increase your chances by doing your best work during senior year if you feel your 9-11 does not stand well enough on its own.
We hope this helps!
–Boston College Undergraduate Admission