<p>There is a common misperception that "Stanford takes a significantly smaller portion of its class SCEA than its peers." I've seen this declaration made on the Stanford page. Not true.</p>
<p>For the Class of 2009, Stanford admitted 867 SCEA applicants for a class roughly the same size and perhaps a bit smaller than Harvard, which admitted 885 SCEA applicants.</p>
<p>Based on this little factoid, I decided to get out the calculator.</p>
<p>Assuming a 90% yield rate on the SCEA admits, Stanford will be filling about 48% of its freshman class via SCEA.</p>
<p>Note also that an unknown number of SCEA deferees will also be admitted from the RD pool.</p>
<p>Strikingly, Harvard, Stanford and Yale each admitted enough early applicants to fill almost precisely the same 53% of the class - if each admit were to matriculate!</p>
<p>Assuming a 90% yield on SCEA applicants, what fraction of the class will have been filled from the early pool?</p>
<p>At Harvard: 48%</p>
<p>At Stanford: 48%</p>
<p>At Yale: 48%</p>
<p>And Princeton? Assuming a 98.5% yield on its ED admits, what fraction of the class will be filled from the early pool? Why, 48%!</p>
<p>An accident? I don't think so. Each of the four will have managed to fill the class with as many high-yield early admits as possible, while staying slightly under the "magic 50%" level.</p>