Early vs Regular acceptance rate

Applying to College
1

i am a rising senior and was curious whether i should apply ed or rd for Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Washu, and UC schools. I know that applying to early usually has higher acceptance rate but i dont know if that necessarily means higher chance of getting in. Ive heard some people say it has higher rate because it shows your interest and also other people say that its because stronger and qualified students tend to apply early.

So long story short, my question is, do i have a higher chance of getting in if i apply early or regular? (My dad works as a staff at one of those colleges if thats helpful)

2

It almost always increases your chances, although perhaps not as much as the raw acceptance rates suggest because, as you mention, recruits and legacies muddy the waters.

3

The UCs do not have ED or EA.

If you are sure one of these other schools is your number one choice and you don’t need extra time to raise your test scores or GPA with fall semester senior year grades, then it’s a good idea to apply ED because it will likely give you at least a small boost.