Does early decision really increase your chances significantly of getting into a college?
<p>Schools vary as to the number of ED applicants they accept and fill the class with....it can be as high as 50%. Many folks will tell you the ED pool has stronger candidates therefore greater competition but clearly it is a high number of openings that are locked in during ED. You would be wise to look up the past stats for each school you are considering.</p>
<p>it also depends on your stats. If your stats are on the low side, I wouldn't do ED. Even if something "statistically" should be helpful, if you're not as competetive as everyone else, it's not going to help. On the other hand, if you're a strong applicant, it can be a huge push-up depending on school</p>
<p>how do u do that?</p>
<p>Hey Wabash.....go to the college website and search for stats also the student newspaper and look at the profiles of the incoming class. There is much more info available than some folks are willing to search out. You might post a question on CC in the particular school thread that you are wanting to know about. Current students are quite familiar with the stats of their school and many on CC are most forthcoming about where and how to get the stats you are looking for. Keep asking questions.</p>
<p>Colleges publish the SAT ranges for ED applicants versus RD applicants and they are lower for ED. The really disturbing thing is that some colleges fill up 30-40% of their open slots in the freshman class using ED. There is a lot of criticism of ED by educators. Some people think that it is being used as an admissions strategy and forces high school students to decide too early because they fear being left out otherwise. ("I have to apply ED somewhere or I may not get in anywhere.") Minority groups feel that it discriminates against them since their students are less likely to apply ED since they more likely to need finan aid. In 2003, Stanford, Yale and Harvard switched from ED to SCEA in answer to the critics. These schools were able to do it since they have such high yields anyway. The effects of SCEA are currently being investigated.</p>
<p>Don't apply ED if you also plan to apply for finan aid since you give up your ability to compare FA packages, and you may bind yourself to a very high payment.</p>