Why is Yale's SCEA acceptance rate generally lower than Harvard's?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

I believe last year the difference wasn’t too huge, but two years ago I believe the difference was between 4-6%.

2

The question has been asked before. I’m not sure anyone here has the definitive answer, but here’s a start:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1676196-why-is-scea-acceptance-rate-so-much-higher-p1.html

3

One reason is that H tends to have a higher percentage of recruited athletes among its entering classes. Coaches ask committed recruits to submit their apps during EA time. If there are fewer Yale athletes overall, then it goes to reason that fewer are using EA and there’s less artificial EA admit rate boosting occurring.

4

Not really. While Yale does recruit fewer athletes than Harvard (~180 vs. ~205), its class size is also smaller (1360 vs. 1660). So there really is no statistical difference, IMO, in the percentage of recruited athletes.