<p>As I'm visiting college campuses and starting to make plans for my applications in the fall, the biggest decision I have to make is whether or not I want to do ED at Cornell.</p>
<p>Basically, it's my first choice, and I want more than anything else to get into Cornell. The other 'reach' schools I'm interested in are Brown, Stanford, and Yale, but if I got into all of these I still think I would choose to go to Cornell. (stanford is iffy, but I don't think I'm going to get in there anyway).</p>
<p>So, are there students who get in ED that wouldn't get in regular? Or is it just a stronger applicant pool and that's why the rate is so much higher? (around 43% ED vs. 29% regular, right?)</p>
<p>Just briefly, I am a white male at a very competitive private school. I have a 3.8 junior year and like a 3.5 overall (3.7 if you dont count freshman year) with an advanced (but not 'most rigorous') courseload. I have exceptional strengths in English. My recommendations will be stellar and my essays should be good as well. (I know that on my 'essay of your choice' common app essay, I'm going to write about how I've made a significant contribution to gay rights organizations and our schools' GSA but that the one thing that satisfies me the most is just putting a face to the word 'gay'. My personal statements, etc should all be good. And I have national leadership status in theatre (with the thespian society - state board member now, running for international board this summer). Will be applying for theatre. SAT: around 2150, ACT: havent taken it yet, but good guess is 31.</p>
<p>I guess my question is: is it a LOT easier to get in ED, or are the admitted applicants about the same caliber of student? I want to go to Cornell but I'm afraid that I'll be doubting myself later in the year when others are getting their acceptances in April. ED scares me to a certain extent but at the same time I know I want to go to Cornell.</p>
<p>ED gives you an advantage, but not a huge one. When you apply ED, Cornell knows that they are your first choice and that you will have to go there if accepted. The downside is that the financial aid package they give you won't be as nice as the one you would have gotten RD, since they know they don't have to lure you with that. As for your situation, if you definitely know that Cornell is your first choice and you're not in a dire financial situation, I would definitely recommend applying ED. I really wish I had applied ED to Cornell now; the waiting is killing me.</p>
<p>in my school it's quite a bit easier to get in ED. probably because a lot of people don't need financial aid and are sure on where they would like to study.</p>
<p>ED pools are growing by double digits b/c people are catching on about just how big a boost it is. My highschool (competitive public) is a great example of what it can do: five of us applied early and four got in (the fifth was ridiculously underqualified). This is significant b/c the registrar keeps a detailed application log that shows over 35 Cornell applicants a year, with less than a fifth getting the nod. This trend caught my eye just weeks before the ED deadline, but it seemed worth a shot. Those 20 days or so were hell; I missed school quite a bit and my average dropped bigtime.. the only thing I got right that December was the application.</p>
<p>The '06 data got logged a few weeks ago, and my GPA, even w/o the senior-year debacle, was the lowest to get into Cornell from my highschool in the past five years. I socred 2030 SATs. ED did it for me, I think. But the effort you put into the application is just as significant.</p>
<p>What has happened over the last 10 years in college admissions? how does the norm of say 13,000 applicants to cornell skyrocket to over 28000? were the people 10 years ago less confident than the kids now? ED rates have skyrocketed also, does anyone know what has caused this change?</p>
<p>i think the ED pool is actually stronger...why else would they accept more students from it? If you're legacy ED helps a good bit, and all around, it shows you're committed to cornell. if you want cornell go ED...it's a boost either way, whether it's stronger or weaker. It shows commitment to cornell and a desire to attend if accepted. You can't get that as easily with RD.</p>
<p>Population growth really is one reason. The number of high school seniors will reach peak in 2008, I've heard, then it will climb down gently from then on.</p>
<p>Another might be attributed to the Common Application. Having to file by hand and mail each application is a laborious process, but the CommonApp reduces it to simply another click with a mouse. Thanks to the CommonApp, an average applicant applies to more schools than ever before.</p>
<p>It'd not population growth so much as a growth of students applying and attending college (due also to a growth of students attending high school-- meaning way less drop-outs than before). The actual number of people there are doesn't have an enormous effet on the college application process.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on your commitment to Cornell. If there's a shadow of a doubt that some other school might appeal to you, I wouldn't do ED. I applied RD because I didn't want to be rushed into a decision (and here I am, two months away from the deadline still undecided! haha).</p>