<p>Which is more doffocul early decision?<br>
Thanks.</p>
<p>Difficult*
Sorry, on mobile </p>
<p>It is a shame that this is what ED has become. Applying to one of these schools or the other ED should be about the fact that it is the one place you really, really want to go and is the only perfect place for you. Dartmouth and Penn are very different, so deciding between them should be simple. If it is not, then neither is a good choice ED school for you.</p>
<p>Not the point. </p>
<p>I am just analyzing numbers based on this year’s early decision data. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/ivy-league-admission-statistics-class-2018/”>http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/ivy-league-admission-statistics-class-2018/</a></p>
<p>Not sure if Dartmouth’s being slightly higher is due to selection made by students, who happen to be better.</p>
<p>^ They’re quite comparable. The acceptance rates and stats (SATs, GPAs, etc.) of the two schools are so close, that they’re essentially the same. Trying to analyze it beyond that doesn’t make much sense, in my opinion.</p>
<p>^^^@45percenter</p>
<p>Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>Do you think that one in particular has just a slight edge in ED, in terms of easiness?</p>
<p>^ No, the admissions process at top schools is too holistic and subjective to be reduced to such a generalization. </p>
<p>I understand that. But, is there any sort of lower average or scores, such as ACT/SAT, that one school has ED over the other?</p>
<p>^ In a word, no. Their ACT/SAT ranges are, again, quite comparable. And the thing you need to understand is that none of these top schools base admissions decisions solely on SAT/ACT scores, and they don’t use a few points here or there on those tests to make decisions. Instead, they determine if applicants are within a general range of scores to qualify for admission–which the vast majority of them are–and then they move on to look at grades, essays, ECs, recs, etc. No admissions committee at a top school decides to admit one applicant over another because of a few points one way or the other on the SAT/ACT.</p>
<p>Again, average SAT/ACT scores are not a way to distinguish between Penn and Dartmouth regarding admissions selectivity in general, or ED selectivity in particular.</p>
<p>So what school overall is easier ED, taking into consideration all those factors - which is more selective? Dartmouth has slightly higher percentage, but not sure if that is due to self selection, as in better students. </p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>For that last time, the students who apply to and/or are accepted ED by both schools–Dartmouth and Penn CAS–are comparable. One applicant pool is not “better”–either in objective, statistical terms or in subjective, holistic terms–than the other. To look beyond that for an overall qualitative difference suggests the proverbial effort to determine how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. ;)</p>
<p>Personally I think it’s harder to apply in the ED round than the RD round. I mean, although you have a higher acceptance rate, you’re competing with recruited athletes, legacies, and people who really REALLY want to go to that school. So I wouldn’t look at ED as a somewhat easier way to gain admission. Each round of admissions early or not is difficult. </p>
<p>I disagree with the statement that it’s more difficult to get in ED than RD. pmsleepy’s reasoning is what colleges say to make it seem like ED and RD are the same difficulty. ED gives you a slight boost for sure, I would say (maybe not at schools like Harvard, which defer like everyone).</p>
<p>As for the difficulty of Penn/Dartmouth ED, I do agree with all the other posters that the decision to apply to a school ED should be based on more than the acceptance rate. However, I’d like to try my best to answer this question by sharing my experiences. I was rejected from Penn ED (CAS) and accepted to Dartmouth RD. I don’t know much about Dartmouth’s ED process, but I did do a lot of research on EDing Penn and do know that Penn accepts almost 50% of its freshman class from the ED pool. So clearly, ED gives a considerable boost. That said, this does not mean that you’ll have a high chance of getting accepted (which is kinda what I had hoped for when I applied). After getting a flat-out rejection (not even deferral!!!), I perused the results thread and was shocked to find all sorts of randomness in the acceptances and flatout rejections. I think that Penn looks for a certain type of student (not sure what that type is because I honestly was so sure that I was perfect for Penn). </p>
<p>I also don’t think that Dartmouth’s applicants are self-selecting (at least not any more than Penn’s). The students who apply to Dartmouth won’t be any more qualified than those who apply to Penn (at least to my very limited knowledge). I would say that Dartmouth’s higher ED acceptance rate is straightforward. If it’s higher, it’s higher, not because of some self-selection.</p>
<p>^ This past year, Penn accepted 54% of the class early - <a href=“Early decision admission rate increases by less than one percent | The Daily Pennsylvanian”>Early decision admission rate increases by less than one percent | The Daily Pennsylvanian. </p>
<p>This past year, Dartmouth accepted 40% of its class early: <a href=“http://thedartmouth.com/2013/12/12/news/early-acceptance-rate-drops-nearly-two-percent”>http://thedartmouth.com/2013/12/12/news/early-acceptance-rate-drops-nearly-two-percent</a></p>
<p>At least for the past few years, where Penn has taken very close to 50% (or now over 50%) of the class early, and Dartmouth typically takes about 40%, the messaging seems to be that Penn will take a significantly higher percentage of the class early, and this squeezes RD applicants a little more.</p>
<p>Put another way, if you really like Penn, applying ED easily seems to be the best decision. It’s very possible that next year, like this year, 50%+ of the class will be filled early. </p>
<p>In terms of which school is more selective - as the OP seems to be having difficulty with this - I’ll simplify: they are exactly the same in terms of selectivity. One is not easier than the other, and one is not harder than the other. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, Harvard also gives a boost to early applicants, at least as measured by acceptance rates. This year, Harvard’s Early Action acceptance rate was 21%, while its Regular Decision acceptance rate was 3% (compared to Penn’s ED acceptance rate of 25% and RD acceptance of 7%).</p>
<p>Bottom line is: if you’re sure that any one of these schools is your first choice, APPLY EARLY (as Cue7 also recommended).</p>
<p>And absentions, Dartmouth is a fantastic school (and, as Cue7 and I have both been saying, as hard to get into as Penn). Congratulations, and have a great four years there!</p>
<p>Applying early gives you an advantage. It’s obvious that schools such as Harvard and Upenn accept a lot of their students with SCEA and ED so that they fill up more of their class, while lowering their regular decision admit rate to basically infinitesimal numbers (Harvard was 3.1 percent this year). However, like @absentions (btw congrats on Dartmouth, terrific school), I don’t think that it is going to basically guarantee admission, since the standards don’t seem to be that different for each pool. I would say that the early applicants benefit from something that most people don’t realize: that the admission officers are fresh. At the beginning, their mindset is much more positive, meaning that each applicant gets much more attention, thus making it more likely to get a “yes” in December.
At this point, I would say you need to visit both colleges and see which one is the correct fit for you. The numbers are basically the same (there is no clear statistical advantage for either option). Since ED is BINDING, you have to realize that the school you are choosing in the early round is the school that you would be enrolling in. Don’t look at it as a pure number game from this point on. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the analysis!</p>
<p>HOLD ON. I have read in some places that ED to Dartmouth is harder than ED to Penn b/c there are more athletic recruits to Dartmouth & Penn accepts such a larger percentage of their class in ED admissions (over 50% I think).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/ivy-league-admission-statistics-class-2018/”>http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/ivy-league-admission-statistics-class-2018/</a></p>
<p>Anyone have any suggestions? Which is easier to make - ED to Penn or ED to Dartmouth???</p>
<p>The difference in selectivity of these schools is insignificant. What is not insignificant, however, is the difference between Philadelphia and Hanover. That’s what you should be thinking about if you are going to apply to either ED.</p>