<p>Hi, I was wondering to what extent applying ED helps your chance of being admitted to Penn. I look to apply to the College of Arts and Sciences for the pre-med route. Do Penn admissions officers evaluate ED applications any differently than RD? If so, how? Thanks.</p>
<p>I haven’t applied to Penn, but based on what I’ve seen from my peers, I would say that it’s more competitive, generally speaking, during the ED round. Early applicants tend to be the stronger and more polished applicants, not saying that doesn’t exist within the general applicant pool. I could very much be wrong though …</p>
<p>I think overall ED helps slightly because the higher acceptance rate allows it to be a little less of a crapshoot for a qualified applicant. However, I don’t think it works magic. All of the kids I have known to get accepted at Penn ED are as qualified as the ones I know who were accepted RD. But because the acceptance rate is lower RD, it is even harder for qualified applicants to stand out. This is not to say that there are not a lot of very qualified people who are not admitted early. I know a kid who was deferred early then rejected in the spring, but was admitted to Brown RD. Also, the early decision round includes legacies and athletes who are most highly considered during that period. Additionally, when I visited Penn, I was told by a student working in admissions that the early decision pool is stronger. Most of the kids that applied ED to schools that I know seem to have the intense interest and where with all that is required to do all of the extra planning. I also know a lot of kids who completed their applications the last minute on December 31; the ED deadline is November 1.</p>
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<p>The VAST majority of competitive applicants (in this case the typical 2300+, 4.0, class presidents) sets their goals on HYPS; no offense to Penn (the school that I will attend in September). Therefore very few of the top level applicants are going to obligate themselves to an early decision agreement. So I’d say that applying early decision definitely increases your chances of getting accepted because it allows you to avoid being in the same pool as the more competitive RD applicants. </p>
<p>But don’t apply early decision just because it gives you a higher chance of acceptance. Do it because you love the school.</p>
<p>^ very nice post wtan. I definitely agree with you in that very few of those best of the best applicants would apply to UPenn ED since the decision of binding.</p>
<p>I think a significant amount of best applicants will apply ED to Wharton, but not so much for other schools.</p>