more than one school EA? Or only one? Thank you!
You have to check the rules for each school that may be on your EA list. Some have restrictions on where else you can apply early. Also, you don’t necessarily have a better shot applying EA versus RD. This is also something that you should research for each potential EA on your list. For example, Notre Dame says that it is more conservative when reviewing EA applications.
Georgetown is also harder at EA than RD
Generally, EA doesn’t really bump up application chances because it is non-binding. ED is binding, so schools can see you have a specific interest in their school, and your chances can greatly increase like that. I’d recommend applying EA to schools that you:
a) want to hear back from earlier
b) are confident that your application and supplements are at the strongest they can be by the deadline
If you’re not feeling confident in your application by the Early Action submission date, submitting RD might be better for you because you can strengthen your app to be where you want it to be.
Some school (georgia tech comes to mind) accept a higher percentage of kids during early action than regular action. Some schools, (MIT for example), has virtually the same acceptance rate early as regular, where others, (such as georgetown), accept a lower percentage of students during EA.
Long story short, it varies drastically school to school.
There are reasons to do EA besides admissions boost.
For example, you want to know if you are accepted before visiting a school on the other side of the country, or because you won’t bother applying to school B if you get in to school A.