<p>Duke had an increase of 23% in early applicants this year. I'm wondering if this is because unlike some other ED schools, Duke emphasizes the advantage applying early offers the students: "There is a measurable advantage in the admissions process to applying Early Decision. In 2010-2011, we admitted 29% of students who applied Early Decision and 12% of students who applied Regular Decision." (from the website). When my daughter visited, she said they said that advantage was exclusive of recruited athletes, and they really underlined the advantage during the info session. </p>
<p>Other ED schools admit that there is an advantage, but they downplay it a little: Dartmouth says, "With highly recruited Division 1 athletes removed from the Early Decision applicant pool, the rate of admission during Early Decision falls back to a level that is more comparable, although slightly higher, than the overall rate of admission. So, there is a small statistical advantage to applying to Dartmouth under the Early Decision plan, but the advantage is not so great that it should be the "driving force" behind an applicant's decision to apply early." </p>
<p>Columbia says, "Although a larger percentage of the Early Decision applicant pool is admitted than of the Regular Decision pool, that higher acceptance rate reflects the remarkable strength of a self-selected group of applicants. A candidate to whom we otherwise would not offer admission is not going to be accepted simply because he or she applied under the Early Decision program."</p>
<p>Brown says, "Our pool of early applicants tends to include an especially high proportion of exceptionally talented students, and the typically higher rate of admission reflects that phenomenon, not an automatic advantage for all early candidates. We admit those Early Decision applicants whom we are confident we would take whether they applied in the early or regular process."</p>
<p>Given the benefit of ED to the college, is Duke just being more upfront about the advantage, or are they urging students to apply ED because they want first dibs on kids who might otherwise have more options?</p>