<p>MIT had a 11.17% early acceptance rate and a 12.77% Regular Round.
Early Rejection rate: About 9%.</p>
<p>Can someone analyze this for me? Is this a testament to MITs expoentially growing popularity (greatest increase in early applicants of all the top schools at 13%), or does it indicate that there truly is no advantage in applying early. (Although MIT may be someone's first choice it is more advantageous to apply SCEA to a second-choice yale or stanford because the numbers are against you no matter what).</p>
<p>the people that apply early have an almost 20% acceptance rate over all (EA + RD) so it's all good.
EA itself is low because of the quota thing, they probably want to see more of the applicants before admitting so many</p>
<p>I think it's still good to apply early, it doesn't seem a smaller chance to me. It's like giving me 2 chances to get in. so EA for me =D visiting on Friday!!! SOOO HYPER</p>
<p>Most people who apply to MIT early will be deferred to the regular round. As rainynightstarz says, many students who are deferred will be admitted in the regular round -- last year, 390 applicants were admitted early, and another 289 deferred applicants were admitted RD.</p>
<p>The most basic reason for the low early admit rate is that MIT limits the number of early admits to 30% of the entering class, in order to give RD applicants a fair shake. I suspect that the relatively large number of deferred students admitted RD is a testament to the strength of the EA pool, and therefore there's not much of an advantage to applying early. </p>
<p>One advantage that people have found is that by applying early, they can send additional information for their applications to be reviewed in the regular round -- if you write a great essay for another school, for example, you could send that in, or if you get an award or honor, you could send that in too. That way, you have some time to think about your application and have the opportunity to avoid sender's remorse.</p>
<p>It's great to have your file reviewed twice, and to have the chance to update it, but that's the advantage to applying early. The admissions officers say, and I think the numbers support them, that applying early in and of itself does not give you any bonus points as an applicant. It's just that being the kind of person who applies early (that is, informed, organized, excited, relatively serious about MIT) bodes well for your success in the application process, regardless of when you apply.</p>
<p>I don't think you should play it by the numbers, but rather play it by the strategy. I imagine most people who got in EA would get in RD. So you have to decide whether your EA application is strong enough (though you can always send more in), and whether you want first semester grades to show up. Putting too many % numbers up suggests that it's like spinning a wheel of fortune. Good thing it's not that way or we might here things like "Nuts, I spun Harvard :(." (no offence mollie!)</p>
<p>Well, you're not going to get direct feedback, in the sense that you can't call and ask the admissions office "the reason" you were deferred. It's more personal reflection, as well as the experience of completing RD apps for other schools.</p>
<p>Going by what I recall from the blogs, I think they pick those students who they are confident would have been chosen in the RD round anyway. Even though many of the EA applicants who are deffered will get in during the RD round, they don't want to take too many (so that people don't start seeing EA as an easier way to get in). The way the blogs explained it, it seemed like EA was mainly there for those kids who really wanted to go to MIT to find out their decision earlier possibly and have a happy holidays.</p>
<p>It is extremely unlikely that children of faculty or administrators get any preferential treatment in admission to MIT when major alumni do not. At MIT, the Dean of Admissions is not answerable to the President of the institute any more than he is to the alumni development office. He only reports to the Dean of Undergraduate Education.</p>
<p>Buyer beware, MOST of the EA students who get deferred will get rejected in the regular round. MIT's EA adds no competitive boost to your application, most EA application don't add a competitive boost, because they are not binding, you can just as easily reject them when its all said and done with EA or RD.</p>
<p>While no particular activity/program/competition will automatically get you in, arwen is right, people with the highest levels of activities generally have many of the qualities the adcoms are probably looking for and have very strong records.</p>
<p>The best way to think about admissions is to focus on writing a damn good application. Don't worry about who else applies; scores of ruthlessly good applicants will submit for both EA and RD, so you should just focus on making your application as good as you can.</p>