Is it really harder to get in Early Decision than Early Action?

I’m considering EDing to U Miami but I looked at the acceptance rate and its shockingly much lower than the early action acceptance rate. 29 percent Ed acceptance rate, 50 percent ea acceptance rate. Would it hurt my chances to apply ED?

I can’t say for sure, but I think the people applying ED are those with lower stats and don’t need scholarships to attend. They think applying ED will increase their chances when it won’t make a difference.

Great question. I tend to agree with @almostdonewithhs . You have to consider the applicant pool. Likely less strong candidates in the ED pool. For a ‘specific’ applicant, it seems to me that ED gives the best chance of admission. The school knows you really want to be there, and it is good for their yield. And they can always defer an iffy admit to the regular pool. For any ED consideration, you need to be in the ballpark, maybe toward the middle of the 25% to 75% range.

But I wonder if any CC member has any research info on this?

I have seen numerous high-stats kids apply EA to Miami as it does not require an extra essay and UM is generous with Merit aid. Therefore, the EA pool is probably better than the ED pool.