<p>i've had this question in my mind for a while but i've never really gotten a straight answer. why are early decision acceptance rates so much higher than the regular decision rates? is it because the students are actually more qualified and more driven than the regular decision pool or do the schools lower their standards to get more guaranteed students and thereby increase their yield?
this website i found has numbers from the class of 2011. it just seems crazy to see something like 26% of ED applicants get in and 7% RD get in (princeton). somebody help me out.
<a href="http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/early2007statistics.html%5B/url%5D">http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/early2007statistics.html</a></p>
<p>Maybe because ED is binding and it shows the college you have genuine interest in it? </p>
<p>I'm sure there's others factors as well, but this one's off the top of my head :P</p>
<p>Word on the street is that Penn wasn't always as highly regarded as it is now -- much of the student body wasn't very enthusiastic about the school (a la Cornell today?)... So they began accepting a higher percentage of kids through ED, that way they'd actually have a better student body who liked the school more. I'm assuming that helped the school's reputation, since Penn's been in the top 10 for the past few years, whereas they weren't throughout most of the 90s.</p>
<p>I think ED and RD students are pretty similarly qualified. The average SAT scores are 20 points apart: ED: <a href="http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/01/12/News/29.Of.Early.App.Students.Admitted-2628590.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/01/12/News/29.Of.Early.App.Students.Admitted-2628590.shtml</a> RD: <a href="http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/04/02/News/Admission.Rate.Drops.To.Record.Low.15.9-2816943.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/04/02/News/Admission.Rate.Drops.To.Record.Low.15.9-2816943.shtml</a></p>
<p>When people apply somewhere ED, they rarely choose somewhere that's a total reach because it would be a waste (since you can only apply one place, you might as well apply somewhere you have a chance). Also, some RD applicants probably apply to Penn on a whim, even if their stats are quite low. That brings down RD acceptance rates for most good schools.</p>
<p>Remember, recruited athletes and developmental applicants (the ones with the buildings named after them and such) apply ED. They get in no matter what (well athletes need respectable grades/SATs but have a huge leg up). They bring down the SAT averages for ED. Also, ED is a much smaller pool, so acceptance rates are going to be higher.</p>
<p>with<em>one</em>voice nailed it...well one of the reasons anyway.</p>
<p>And hey, it worked :)</p>
<p>Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania uber alles
uber alles in der welt</p>
<p>Afd8 - I did the math and it's 13 points - </p>
<p>2137 RD
697 +722 +705 = 2124 ED.</p>
<p>Or an average difference of around 4 points per section - I'm not even sure that counts as being statistically significant.</p>
<p>So there is no real difference in the quality of the pools - Penn would be dumb to take lower quality students ED when they are turning away 90+% of RD applicants (many of whom are highly qualified). In addition to development admits and athletes, the ED pool also includes most of the legacies (they only give legacy pref. in ED). So once you factor those out, the avg. non-hook ED is probably MORE qualified than the avg. non-hook RD.</p>
<p>ED is sort of a "deal or no deal" type understanding. Penn benefits because it raises their yield and they get a student body that's happy to be there, for whom Penn was a 1st choice and not a "safety".</p>
<p>I don't think that comparison is accurate.</p>
<p>Isn't the article saying that the average is 2124 ED and 2137 OVERALL? So the two pools aren't compared separately, since the ED scores contribute to the 2137. If this is the case, RD scores must average even higher than 2137 to make up the difference.</p>
<p>A lot of legacies apply ED. That's a good boost for the early applicant pool.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if thats true.
Many legacy people believe that they
can definately get into Penn (if they had legacy for Penn)
, relying on their legacy. So most of the legacy people
end up applying ED to better ivy schools.
I'm not sure about results, but yeah</p>
<p>bzzzzz wrong</p>
<p>Penn explicitly tells legacy students that their legacy status will only help them if they apply ED.</p>
<p>Lee Stetson is a crafty one, he is</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/aca/faq.html#a6%5B/url%5D">http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/aca/faq.html#a6</a> there is the exact phrasing. And that's put politely. In person they tell you it's ED or you're on your own.</p>
<p>I'm saying many ppl dont realize what you said
and think their legacy school as safety..
which results in complete turndown</p>
<p>That doesn't say that it doesn't count in RD. It says that legacies receive maximum consideration in ED. That is, it counts MORE in ED than in RD.</p>
<p>so jealous of legacy people.</p>