<p>The acceptance rate of early decision is twice as great as regular decision. I was wondering if applying early decision makes it easier to get into Brown? Does Brown like that applying early means it is their number one choice or is there just more qualified students applying early?</p>
<p>The higher acceptance rates for early decision are a reflection of the acceptance of recruited athletes who are asked by the coaches to apply ED and have already been assured, albeit informally, that their application will be accepted by Admissions. Otherwise, the acceptance rates would be the same and there is no advantage to applying ED.</p>
<p>alloutivy is basically correct. Because so many recruited athletes apply ED, and their acceptance rate is 100%, that skews the figure. However, if you removed the athletes, the acceptance rate is still a little higher ED compared to RD – although you also have to factor legacy and development applicants into your calculations. And the applicant pool is stronger in ED.</p>
<p>The benefit of applying early is that because there are fewer applications (a few thousand versus 25,000+), your application probably gets a little more attention. You won’t be the 10,000th kid who edits his school paper and runs track who wrote an essay about their grandmother.</p>
<p>I always heard that to be accepted ED, it was harder. There is a smaller applicant pool but they also need to be sure that you’re right for the school. l"We liked you so much we accepted you without needing to see the RD applicants."</p>