Many colleges say that EA applicants don’t have an advantage in admissions because the EA applicant pool is generally more competitive. If this is true, then what is the benefit of applying EA and where should I apply for EA?
<p>Yes. this is true, for places like harvard</p>
<p>because EA lets colleges "create" a pool of applicants easier, and they can also grab the smartest applicants because of the applicant's interest</p>
<p>the benefit of EA is that u get 2 chances...
that's basically it</p>
<p>EA has very minimal benefits I think.</p>
<p>You just get to know your results earlier</p>
<p>The chances are statistically a bit better if you apply EA, as long as you are qualified for the school you are applying to. Yes the pool is more competitive, but if you are qualified then it is in your favor.</p>
<p>But also, if you are pretty strong on a particular school, EA changes up your strategy a bit. DD did not need a safety school after an EA acceptance to a great school. All of a sudden she could just apply to the schools she really liked best. This meant a bit more of a 'reachy' list, maybe 2 uber reaches added, although in the end the schools were pretty much the same as her first short list, she just learned more about them and so ended up somewhere else than the EA school.</p>
<p>yes bettina the chances are statistically better, however one most notice you are in an even more competetive applicant pool when applying ed/ea</p>
<p>In terms of pure percentages, EA is better almost everywhere. After you subtract legacies, recruited athletes, and high URMs, the percentages often look no better than RD for the average high scoring applicant. Schools also play different games with deferrals. Yale rejects far more than it defers, then takes a high percentage of the deferred in the RD round. Harvard defers more than it rejects, but the odds of getting in off of a deferral at Harvard are quite low. The reality is, without a hook, your odds don't change that much either way.</p>
<p>ED gives you a big advantage. In order to increase their yield, colleges often fill 20-40% of their freshman classes with ED applicants and the ED applicants who are accepted are not as statistically good as the applicants accepted during RD. However, EA is not binding like ED, and so the advantage is not there. The main advantage of EA is that you find out sooner.</p>
<p>One reason the ED applicants are not as good statistically is that ED includes a large percentage of recruited athletes, legacies, and high scoring URMs, all of which are given a break on their stats. For the 'good average high scoring kid', the odds aren't that different from RD at many schools. Princeton seems to be an exception.</p>
<p>I think that statistically, for most schools, early apps tend to have better admit chances. Even though schools insist that the pool is stronger early, something I agree is the situation, because it does mean something that a kid can get his act together and get the apps in earlier rather than later. Also recruited athletes are urged to apply early by the coaches. </p>
<p>The main benefit of applying EA, however, in my opinion, is that you are giving yourself a litmus test on your situation. If you apply to a number of rolling and early schools and the new is bad, you have time to adjust your list accordingly for the regular round. If you get into them all, you can eliminate some of the schools on your regular list and just focus on the ones you like better than what you have in hand.</p>
<p>Bandit, what do you mean Princeton is an exception?</p>
<p>Princeton does seem to take lower stat kids, without a hook, in the ED round.</p>
<p>I think applying EA to a competitive school conveys your sincere interest in the school (if they don't also offer ED that is). If they're not sure about you they'll defer you. Then you get another chance to improve your app and restate your interest. I think your first choice school needs to know that you'll come if they admit you. An EA application is one way to let them know you love their school.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. Yale definitely does this with almost 17% of EA deferreds getting accepted in the RD round. Harvard takes very few deferreds in the RD round.</p>