<p>What does it mean to apply early? Does it actually help your chances with getting into the school? Or is just there to notify you earlier?</p>
<p>It’s a marketing term to make applicants feel that they are especially coveted. </p>
<p>You gotta remember that college admissions is a two-way courtship. They want to woo students, get them to apply, and sell themselves to the admitees.</p>
<p>So basically it doesn’t help at all?</p>
<p>Who is to know? The college sends our app materials marked “priority application” and also sends regular, unmarked materials. Those who apply under the “priority” application – are they more wanted than those who apply under the normal methods?</p>
<p>It would strike me that they issue the “priority” stuff to students to make them feel extra wanted. Would they reply in kind with a more preferential treatment? Maybe. If it’s solely just marketing, they may not give any preferential treatment.</p>
<p>It’s not the answer you want but given that “priority” is a marketing construct, it’s unknowable unless they explicitly state they will give preference.</p>
<p>This is the poor man’s Early Decision. Under ED, it’s known that the applicant goes all-in. Therefore, the college is willing to risk more (and give preference) as well. This “priority” stuff is rather light weight as far as commitment by either party goes.</p>
<p>If a college offers you an application option that isn’t offered to the general population, it’s possible they see you as a particularly compelling candidate. My daughter was offered a “Leadership Application” via a link not visible anywhere on that selective LAC’s website, along with a password to get in. This college doesn’t offer EA, but she received an acceptance from them last week, long before their publicized notification dates. </p>
<p>I suspect the school was trying to make sure they were her safety school rather than the other two she was considering, in case she was overestimating her chances at her top choices. If they can get enough high-flying students who are applying to, say, all Ivies and using this small selective LAC as their safety, this could theoretically generate a LOT of Ivy-rejected students who assumed that if they applied to all the Ivies, they’d get into at least one of them. (Which is why even the highest-flyers should be applying to a few highly-selective non-Ivies AS WELL as a selective safety school.)</p>