<p>Hello</p>
<p>I'm a tad confused about EA vs RD chances. Is it more difficult to get into Notre Dame EA than RD?</p>
<p>I guess to put it simply, yes, it is more difficult to get into ND EA. However, the answer really depends upon your situation. If you have a high GPA and SAT/ACT scores, high rank, and diverse ECs, and you want to go to ND 100% then EA is probably the best fit. Going the RD route can often make matters difficult for these otherwise EA students due to the size of the RD pool and other competition.</p>
<p>If you are an above average student with a few blemishes on your application, then RD is really the best bet.</p>
<p>The best advice I’ve seen is to apply EA only if you are totally happy with your application at the present time - no need to retake any tests, win any more awards, bring up the GPA, etc. ND admissions do admit that EA is tougher than RD, but at least they do defer some candidates, and it’s not an admit/reject decision.</p>
<p>I agree with Mimama. My niece (non-legacy) applied EA because she felt she could put her best foot forward then-- her best scores, GPA etc. She was deferred on EA, but eventually got in. She was in the top 3% of her class if that helps. She stayed in communication with her regional admissions counselor, which I think is important. Others will tell you to have an ACT of 33-34 (>2200 SAT) and high GPA to do EA. They are probably right if you hope for a very likely acceptance and not a possible deferral EA.</p>
<p>I bumped to the top the thread containing 2010, 2009 and 2008 EA statistics. If one assumes that approximately half (just a guess) of deferred students get admitted RD, then the total of accepted students that appled EA goes up to around 50%, vs. about 17% for those ONLY applying RD over the past few years (my analysis from about 18 months ago in a different thread). Thus a 3X better chance of applying EA and getting accepted. Surprisingly, the average SAT and ACT is not much higher for the EA acceptance vs. overall acceptance. If you have strong numbers, then EA and possibly deferral makes sense. The downside, of course, is rejection in the EA process. I know a young man with a 34 ACT that this happened to a few years ago. Alternatively, he received a full ride merit scholarship to Tulane later.</p>
<p>Based on this analysis, go EA if the numbers are there to support your application.</p>