Under what conditions is it favorable to apply early to top schools?

Applying to College
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<p>Harvard reinstated SCEA this year. It's definitely my top choice, but it's also Harvard, and I've heard that the early action pool is often much more competitive than the regular admissions pool. Is that true? Would it be better to wait until the RD round? My stats are pretty competitive (I won't go into those here), but I just wanted to know the general "environment" surrounding the SCEA pool - not only for Harvard, but for other top schools with EA, whether it be SCEA or not.</p>

<p>My dilemma basically is - should I apply early to my top choice or apply to two EA schools that I also really love but probably have a better chance at?</p>

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<p>This is for Y about EA, but I think it holds true for HYPS:</p>

<p>[Early</a> admit rate rises slightly | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/dec/15/early-admit-rate-rises-slightly/]Early”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/dec/15/early-admit-rate-rises-slightly/)</p>

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<p>Think about it, the purpose of EA is to have several extra months to woo exceptional applicants who will likely be accepted in the RD round at other highly selective schools or will receive large merit scholarships. There is no reason to pick strong, but not necessarily outstanding applicants in the EA round, they are simply deferred to the RD round where they can be compared to the larger pool of applicants.</p>

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<p>Thanks, that makes sense. I’m not sure under what conditions an applicant can be considered “outstanding” rather than “strong” though - enlighten me?</p>