<p>Is ED for Upenn more competitive than RD???
I know ED has higher rate of acceptance, but does ED applicants more competitive than RD applicants?</p>
<p>Sort of. The high acceptance rate can be attributed in part by the low number of applicants who chose to go for the “binding” ED. The higher acceptance rate can also be attributed to the fact than those applying to ED know that penn is their first choice and they are probably highly qualified applicants if they’re making the ED effort. A third reason for the higher acceptance rate is that this is the only applicant pool where legacy is considered in the admission decision. So those things combined make the ED acceptance higher. I’d say less than 30% of that fact is attributed to a difference in competitiveness from the RD pool. </p>
<p>@pennplease2015 I’ve always hear that the ED pool is more a competitive pool, but intuitively I would think the exact opposite, since many of those who apply to RD probably got rejected ED from HYPS. I guess this is not the case for the majority of applicants.</p>
<p>As expected, RD gets fewer applicants then RD. If there is a difference in SAT, grades, etc. I cannot tell because interviewers are not given that info. But, you do get many more “fishing expeditions” in RD. The ED appellants are serious about Penn. (By fishing expeditions I mean applicants who are really really reaching.)</p>