Hi, I am a prospective engineering major, and I was wondering if there are any benefits of applying early to these schools. I am aware these are not binding early action programs. Is there are difference in acceptance rate between EA and RD? Is the applicant pool more competitive during EA? Does applying EA actually show interest compared to RD? Overall, does applying early actually make a difference?
Thanks
Some people think EA shows that a schools is among your top choices, but from what I have seen EA doesn’t give much of an admissions boost. The main benefit of EA IMO is that you get an acceptance decision earlier. For my S that was significant and it ended up saving us a good bit of money. He got a school that was probably his 4th or so choice or so early on, so he didn’t have to put in (and pay for) applications to less preferred safety/match schools. Plus getting into a college he liked early on took a great deal of stress out of the whole college admission process for him.
Purdue doesn’t have an EA, but accepts on a Rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the more likely you are to get accepted.
EA deadlines force the applicant to start writing essays earlier than otherwise would have been the case. The result is that the essays the applicant submits in RD are better than they otherwise would have been. So, there is a huge advantage to applying somewhere, anywhere, EA over and above any admissions bump that might exist.