<p>does ED applicants being weaker apply to top 20’s?</p>
<p>Read Chris Avery, Andrew Fairbanks, and Richard Zeckhauser’s “The Early Admissions Game” - it provides the best statistical and anecdotal evidence suggesting that ED candidates are, in general, weaker academically than regular decision applicants at most highly selective institutions. However, the “weaker” here usually refers to SAT scores and the authors acknowledge this has its limits.</p>