<p>If a school is at a high match/reach level for me, would it be for or against my favor to apply EA (not ED.)?</p>
<p>Depends if you need aid or not.</p>
<p>If it is EA (not ED) then it isn't binding and you have nothing to lose by applying early. But if it is Single Choice EA, then it would preclude you from applying early elsewhere.</p>
<p>Yeah, i knew that, but thats not what i meant. I meant, since EA is NOT binding, does my chance of getting accepted EA go down since the EA pool is tougher? or...is the EA pool tougher?</p>
<p>Well...I don't really think that EA (single-choice or otherwise) provides much of a boost--UNLESS you are a hooked applicant (legacy, etc.). Even in this case, it's not anything like the ED boost (which is real, at least to a degree). Sure, most schools have a somewhat higher acceptance rate for EA, but the pool is stronger, because there are a lot of kids who feel that they are decently competitive at a bunch of schools that are highly selective (I'm assuming that these are the type of schools we are talking about), which is why they aren't binding themselves to one school. </p>
<p>So, I think that EA is essentially a wash as far as boosting or hurting your chances goes. It also depends on the schools--for example, from anecdotal evidence, it seems like Stanford feels little compunction in rejecting quite a few SCEA applicants, and MIT's EA acceptance rate isn't any higher than their RD acceptance rate. So if you are thinking about applying to these schools or schools who use EA like these schools, it probably is not to your advantage. In general, however, I don't see much about EA that hurts the applicants. If you are strong enough to be accepted or at least waitlisted RD, you are not going to get rejected EA. If you get rejected EA, you were almost certainly not going to get in RD*. So at most schools, it is just what they say it is--an early notification deal. You get in, and you can adjust what schools you apply to accordingly. You get rejected, and you can rethink your list accordingly. You get deferred--I got deferred--and you can bone up your application. I don't see much downside. </p>
<p>*Yes, these two statements are generalizations. Big improvements in SAT's or grades/class rank may lead to a non-competitive EA applicant becoming competitive in the RD round, so it probably would behoove those applicants for whom the EA school is a BIIIIIIG reach not to apply EA (as they would almost certainly just be rejected). Still unlikely that a rejected EAer would have been able to improve enough to get accepted RD, but I acknowledge the possibility.</p>
<p>sriharifez</p>
<p>There are schools where applying early may help OR hurt you. Here is the link, where you can find this information.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>thanks dolo2!</p>
<p>You’re welcome ;)</p>
<p>"Does my chance of getting accepted EA go down since the EA pool is tougher? or...is the EA pool tougher?" This sound awfully like a Mistah Shepro quote. Intellectual.</p>
<p>uh, who is that? and thank you.</p>
<p>sriharifez dont worry about who sheps is- all you need to know is he is an aspiring intellectual in the history area of expertise-- hes also a connecticut native that was rejected from UCONN in the 1980s and is now a school teacher-- we always get the smartest ones</p>
<p>oh lol i see.</p>