<p>How much Ed's actually affect your chances? I saw a stat that claimed JHU actually accepted 38% of the ed applicants. Do you think it's worth applying early?</p>
<p>ED absolutely helps your chances, but I don’t think it’s that straightforward to quantify. As a rule of thumb, I’ve heard that ED acceptance percentages tend to be double to triple that of standard admissions. Keep in mind, however, that self-selection is in play: these are more than likely to be a stronger group of applicants than the standard pool.</p>
<p>Whether it’s worth it or not is up to you. You had better want to go to a school you ED to, since there is no getting out of it (with some technical exceptions).</p>
<p>If you are absolutely sure that a school is your first choice and that you are fine financially even if you have to pay almost all of the sticker price (ED applicants tend to get very little aid), then by all means, apply ED. But don’t apply ED just for the sake of getting higher chances at a school with ‘prestige.’ </p>
<p>Also, many schools advise “hooked” applicants such as recruited athletes and legacies, to apply ED – the higher acceptance rate is often not because it is “easier” to get in but rather because of the nature of the students in that pool. If a student has a few ED candidates in mind, it is worth exploring with factors underly those higher ED acceptance rates. </p>