I was wondering what the difference is between ED1 vs ED2 acceptance rates at Emory University. I was thinking of applying to Emory as ED2 if I get rejected from my ED1 to Duke. Thanks for the information.
ED2 is usually on par with RD, so % is quite a bit lower than ED1 (as in sometimes like halved or more), but that doesn’t say anything about the quality. My advice is to be sure that Emory is a great fit for you and let that show in the way you handle your application essays and stuff because I just imagine them having a lot more scrutiny of ED2 applicants in terms of fit because they know that ED2 may be the round where people got denied from a school where they applied “high” and then are kind of “settling” for Emory because they don’t want to risk applying high elsewhere or entering RD rounds to place at some other school they like that may be known to be statistically more selective.
Just be careful. Definitely don’t want to come off as, “I just want to be admitted to some elite school, and this one is the safest in terms of admit rate so may as well give it a shot in an early round”. I just personally feel that in some ways, ND, Penn, Georgetown, and Vanderbilt are more similar to Duke because they have D1 sports and known for being “more social” in some capacities (and two of them are closer to Emory level accessible admissions wise I think). You try Emory if you are more academic leaning and maybe are the type that has some idea of its programmatic strengths and how it matches your interest. It isn’t one of the " I am interested just cause everyone else is" elites. Most of the D3s are better at catering to certain niches that have done more intensive research, visited, and maybe compared it to other candidates based on more than surface level stuff that may be conveyed in a tour or marketing brochures.
@LilShra I would also keep in mind that many very selective schools that have offered ED2 in recent years are slowly doing away with that option, and instead choosing to offer that ED2 option exclusively to some of their existing ED/EA pool of deferred applicants (as a way of managing yield). They don’t publicly advertise this fact either, so you wouldn’t necessarily know any better if you hadn’t applied ED1/EA.
If you think about it, the selective schools (like Emory) that could potentially fill their freshman class 3-4 times over with equally qualified candidates don’t necessarily want a whole new batch of applicants whose first choice was Duke, or Vanderbilt, or Rice, etc…coming in for “sloppy seconds”. That just further muddies the waters. The process is ever-shifting and the elite universities are figuring this out faster than the applicants can game the system and strategize.
For that reason, schools like Tulane have done away with ED2 publicly and are offering that to boost yield among deferred applicants.
The boost at the ED2 round is generally thought of as being less than at ED1.
From both sides, ED2 actually is sort of a “sloppy seconds” exercise. The ED2 pool will include kids who missed the ED1 target at Duke or Vandy, sure. But it will also include kids who missed the SCEA target at HYPS. So TBD whose ED1 denies Emory is most interested in…
It is like dating – for it to work, you have to like the person who likes you back.
“I would also keep in mind that many very selective schools that have offered ED2 in recent years are slowly doing away with that option”
I haven’t noticed this. In recent years, I noticed UChi added ED2 and Tulane dropped it. Who else recently has added/dropped ED2?
Thanks for this info!
Thanks for the information!
The ones that have officially done away with ED2 that I know of are Northwestern, Tulane, U of Rochester, and Rice. I’m sure they all had their own reasons for going to a single ED round, but in the case of Tulane I’m fairly certain it is because of what I described above, which is that they could fill the class 3+ times over with qualified applicants in the EA/ED deferral pool already.
Unofficially, and again not publicized by institutions, I still firmly believe that ED2 will continue to be a hot button as it becomes clear that pool at many very good schools is filled with “high stat rejects” (said in the most complimentary way of course) from the top tiers where numbers simply can’t accommodate them…but who for whatever reason we unwilling to commit ED in the first place.
This is my educated guess…
Tulane has Early Action and Emory does not. Tulane also offers free applications and this generates so many EA applications.
I do believe Emory values ED2 candidates and that those who apply ED2 get a big bump whereas the RDs do not. At that, I’ll disagree with others, although I believe ED2 had more admissions for Class of 2022 than for 2023. Of course, the Class of 2022 is Emory’s largest and they dialed that back last year. It’s tough to guess on trends. In any case, I still believe ED2 is a good option if you aren’t ready to commit by the ED1 deadline (haven’t visited yet) or Emory is a strong second choice and #1 doesn’t work out.
I have no Emory specific information but at most colleges any particular candidate should have pretty much the same chance of acceptance if he/she applies ED1 or ED2. The reason the ED1 acceptance rates are typically higher is that ED1 applicants typically include legacy, recruited athletes, and other students with school specific hooks. In addition the ED2 pool is often a bit weaker as it includes candidates who feel they need to show a strong start to the senior year, candidates who need to retake standardized tests etc.