<p>If early action is the same as regular admission processing, except the fact that it has a quicker turn around time, why don't more people choose that over regular admission?
Is there any downside to applying early action over regular processing?
So would it be a good rule of thumb; to apply early action where possible?
And is it true it might increase chances of beign accepted?</p>
<p>It takes effort/time and it's not free to apply. You only apply to schools that you really want to go. Like for example, U of C, the essay prompts are not easy, it takes time and effort to apply, even if you are accepted, do you want to go where it's really cold? For my daughter, the answer was no.</p>
<p>My logic for not applying to one of my favorite schools EA is staggeringly horrible:
(1) I don't want to have to rush to complete the application (which could be construed as, "I'm lazy.")
(2) I don't want to make my teachers rush to complete recs (which wouldn't have been a problem, anyways, since I got all my stuff to them in the beginning of the year.)
(3) I don't want to feel discouraged for three months if I get an early rejection... lol.</p>
<p>
Mm, I'm not sure if some schools have rules limiting whether or not EA applicants are allowed to apply elsewhere EA or ED. I know that ED often has such limitations, but... hm, I'll let a future poster address that. </p>
<p> [quote=nikon50bigma] And is it true it might increase chances of beign accepted?
It is true that EA and ED applicants are statistically more likely to be accepted. However, we must not be too hasty to attribute causation to correlation: perhaps the EA/ED students are those who are most qualified for the school in the first place, or those who are most interested and most likely to have demonstrated interest, etc.</p>