My counselor said there was no statistical advantage for applying Early Action (as opposed to Early Decision, but Harvard doesn’t offer that)
However, the acceptance rate for last year’s Early Action was 21.1%, while the Regular Decision for Harvard was only 3.5%. I’m trying to decide whether to apply early or not, and all my counselor says is that if you are ready you should apply early.
There are two sides: one, the early action acceptance rate is only higher because the candidate pool that applied early is the top 0.1% of students, and applying amongst the top students (who tend to apply early action) would decrease my chances of getting accepted and therefore I should not apply early
OR, the smaller candidate pool will give me less students to be compared with and therefore give me a greater chance of being accepted (higher acceptance rate) and so I should apply early
Which side is “more right?” All I have heard are conflicting viewpoints Btw I’m an international student
For class of 2018, Harvard accepted 992 early out of 4692 applications (21.1%). Yale accepted 735 out of 4750 (15.5%). Princeton 714 out of 3854 (18.5%). I have read that Harvard is sending out a clear message: if Harvard is your first choice, then it is best to apply there early. From what I have seen at my son’s school, this is certainly the case.
The early action round may have stronger applicants (e.g. recruited athletes, other hooked applicants, and others who are simply well prepared and ready to apply early rather than scrambling for a last minute application).
For the class of 2019. Harvard’s SCEA acceptance rate plummeted to 16.5% - second lowest in the Ivies. There is NO clear message to apply to Harvard early.
Btw I’m an international student 