<p>Many people say that, unless you're hooked, ED will not benefit you. Apparently, hooked applicants (URM, athlete, legacy) to top schools typically apply the in the ED/EA rounds, and then the schools admit a large number of them, making the admit rate looks less selective. But if they truly wanted to ensure their yield, wouldn't they leave the hooked deferred for RD since they will probably attend if admitted anyway? (since they usually have lower average stats), and then take the ones with the higher stats during ED instead, to "snatch" them while they can?</p>
<p>So basically, why is ED only beneficial if you're a legacy, URM, or athlete?</p>
<p>The definition of a “hooked” applicant is that he/she exhibits something that the school wants – and therefore will go to extra lengths to admit them and get them to matriculate. The “hooked” super athlete/academic – why would you want to defer her when you can get your brand into their heads early and fast – thereby putting yourself at the front of the line. Why allow other schools to chase after him/her? She’s “hooked” and you want her – then you get her now.</p>
<p>The fact that they are hooked means that if you admit them late (RD), lots of others will admit them RD as well. You don’t want others to snatch them.</p>
<p>For the typical high achievers – frankly there are lots to choose from. After all, your def’n is that they aren’t hooked but just solid candidates.</p>
<p>Thanks. I was only wondering, because since hooked applicant tend to have lower scores, their prioritized admission seemed contrary to what top schools typically want. But, I guess top schools will always have enough high-scorers while “hooked” applicants might not be as abundant in the process, therefore making them more valuable, so I understand now.</p>
<p>Kind of a side-question to this: is EA/ED not really beneficial, then (if you aren’t one of those “hooked” applicants)? I’ve heard that it may be beneficial since it shows commitment, but I don’t know how true this is.</p>
<p>not for the top schools like Yale or Princeton, since they know they can grab anyone anyway, but with middle-tier privates, EA/ED probably shows more interest and might offer a slight benefit. but I’m not sure about that</p>
<p>And “many people” are often incorrect. At EVERY college presentation that I have attended, the rep made it clear that ED helped the masses (if they offered ED). Duke, Penn, Cornell and others proudly announce it.</p>
<p>Admissions officers at a number of top LACs have told us ED gives you a definite edge in admissions at their schools. True, a lot of the ED slots go to recruited athletes at Division III schools; they have no athletic scholarships to pass out, so the coaches are anxious to get their top recruits in the door and signed on the dotted line early. But ED is also a definite signal of interest for all schools at which “demonstrated interest” is a factor in admissions, which includes pretty much all LACs and a lot of smaller private universities (but definitely not at the HYPMS level). These schools are in a hot competition for the top students. The more top students they can get irrevocably committed early in the process, the stronger position they’ll be in to build the strongest class they can, and the fewer admissions offers they’ll need to make, consequently the lower their acceptance rate and higher their yield. What’s key here, though, is that ED probably helps you most if you’re statistically in the top quartile of their admit pool—in other words, if you’re in the likeliest group to be admitted even in the RD cycle.</p>
<p>Do you think EA makes a difference? I know it doesn’t show as much of a commitment as ED, but I don’t think I am willing to commit to ED unfortunately, at least not as of now.</p>
<p>For highly selective colleges, EA doesn’t help much, if at all. Notre Dame even tells apps to not apply EA if thieir app will be stronger (test scores and/or gpa) under the RD round. For state schools and those privates that are typically considered “safeties”, EA is a plus bcos the class fills up.</p>