please don't grill me for this...

<p>but i was looking at the stats for ivy leagues. not that im that low but about 1000 kids apply to Dartmouth early and 4000 to Penn ED. Dartmouth accepts about 30%, as does Penn. I know that Dartmouth's stats are slightly higher than Penn by 10 points</p>

<p>so...doesnt that mean if a person who has decent grades and scores etc applies to Dartmouth, they have a better chance of getting into Dartmouth early than Penn early?</p>

<p>oh, especially if they just want to be accepted early to a good school and get this college admission season over with...</p>

<p>no. not at all. wow. just no.</p>

<p>Dartmouth might be SLIGHLTY more selective, but its so random at this level that its difficult to say one is easier than the other for any particular person.</p>

<p>The vast majority of who both take early are hooked applicants: recruited athletes, legacies, development, etc. Penn for example, only gives legacies a boost in the ED round. The unhooked candidates that get in ED have extremely high stats and are people the schools want to rope in because they are certain to get into a higher ranked school. An average, unhooked candidate will not be accepted ED.</p>

<p>I disagree with bobby. At Penn, especially, an ED candidate has a statistical advantage over a regular candidate, hooked or not. This is also true at Dartmouth. In general an ED candidate needs to really want that school, not just any ED school to get it over with. Somehow, they know how to sniff these people out.</p>

<p>Pick your school based on where you would be happiest. Dartmouth and Penn are very different. Also, don't underestimate how hard it might be to recover from an ED rejection, and then having to finish a bunch more applications. Are you sure this is the best route for you to take?</p>