<p>Looking at the statistics for the higher-ranked LAC's, it appears that applying ED would be a boost. The schools, however, are very small, so how much of that ED acceptance is taken by hooks, such as athletes, legacy, etc? Is it possible to figure out what the true ED acceptance rate is for an unhooked applicant, or is it all just conjecture?</p>
<p>That information is not published. This effect is likely somewhat less for ED than for EA because one of the main reasons for using ED is to bring in full pay applicants.</p>
<p>I know that Dartmouth is not a LAC, but during the info session, the speaker did mention that we should think long and hard about about being qualified when applying ED. His take was that Dartmouth’s higher acceptance rate for ED is not because it’s “easier”, i.e. requirements are more relaxed, but because they accept most of the athletes at that time. Same was said at Duke.</p>
<p>Information isn’t published and it really varies from school to school. I’ve heard admissions officers at some schools say there’s no real advantage to the un-hooked applicant applying ED once you take into account that a lot of those ED spots are going to recruited athletes, legacies, etc. I’ve also heard admissions officers at other schools say there’s a definite admissions advantage in applying ED, in part because the acceptance rate is higher, and in part because it may be advantageous to be in the pool early as they’re building the core of their class-- they might admit you ED and then later pass over a candidate with credentials and an interest and EC profile substantially similar to yours, because they’re trying to build “balance” and “diversity” into the class and they know they already have one like you, namely you. </p>
<p>Also, it’s no secret that ED helps them enormously in managing yield (and therefore selectivity), allows them to lock in some high test scores thus allowing more flexibility in building the rest of the class later, and tends to attract a higher percentage of full-pays. All of which leads many schools to try to fill a large percentage of their incoming class in the ED round.</p>
<p>ED is done in the interest of colleges themselves, not applicants (although getting the most passionate people is always a plus). Though it depends on the school, I’d wager that in many cases, at the most selective schools ED gives an advantage of at most a few percentage points (14% ED vs. 12% RD). Probably especially at schools that do a lot of athletic recruitment like Duke (Williams possibly?). I would also think that if you could be accepted into a school ED, you would’ve likely been accepted RD anyways.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I was guessing there may be a slight advantage, but nowhere near what the acceptance rates may show. How many athletes get special consideration at DIII? I have read that at some of these LAC’s 30-40% of students play varsity sports; if every coach of every sport gets a few spots, that could be a significant number of athletes in ED.</p>
<p>There are so many complicated layers in trying to make a well-reasoned, informed decision in applying to colleges.</p>