Why should I take early action?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Recently I have been looking into Harvard's Early Action program. As far as I can recall, the acceptance rate for Early Action applicants, from a pool of around 5000, was around 13%, while regular applicant acceptants hovered at around 5.5% for the class of 2016. Because of the higher rate of acceptance for early appliers, the early action program seems to be more attractive. However, I am curious to know what should really motivate me to apply to the early action program. What should I desire to get from Harvard that I should look into the program? What should be the reason that I take early action other than just the higher acceptance rate? What are some reasons that would convince me to really want to learn at Harvard as a school? Not for prestige, but as a school and a learning environment?</p>

2

<p>Early Action results in a non-binding, early notification of admission. One generally applies early to demonstrate interest and find out his/her decision sooner. Though the admissions rate appears higher, this is usually because the SCEA pool is self-selective and therefore more competitive. Moreover, a higher acceptance rate does not correspond to an increase in your individual chances.</p>

<p>I’ll let others speak about the learning environment, as I’ve never attended myself…but honestly, your trouble will be convincing Harvard, not Harvard convincing you :wink: That being said, best of luck!</p>

3

<p>The SCEA acceptance rate is higher because many of the strongest candidates are also applying early. If you have really strong stats (and from your post, we don’t know if you do) and are interested in Harvard, then you should apply SCEA.</p>

4

<p>The Regular Decision acceptance rate was actually about 3.8%. The ED and RD rate combined was reported to be 5.9%.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/3/29/admissions-harvard-rate-2016/[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/3/29/admissions-harvard-rate-2016/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Everyone knows Harvard is a reputable, prestigious school so academics are not a problem. What makes Harvard great are the people. Yes, there are a few pretentious types but for the most part, it is such a welcoming environment. </p>

<p>You really should not tell us to try and convince you that Harvard is the one. Research the school and find out what is attractive to you so your application can show passion and interest.</p>

5

<p>^^ Agreed. If you need convincing, then you shouldn’t apply!</p>

6

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<p>‘self-selective’ agreed, ‘more competitive’ not. I think the RD is more competitive because many more similarly qualified applicants will apply in the RD round. If 5,000 applied early and 650 admitted (13% admission rate); with the remainder (1,350) selected from about 30,000 RD applicants (4.5% admit rate), then is EA still more competitive. I think not. Of these 30,000 RD applicants most of them will be as qualified as any of the EA applicants – particularly those RD applicants who did EA to Princeton, Yale, Caltech, MIT, Stanford, etc. So, the OP is right if he says that the EA round is less competitive than the RD round. JMO</p>

7

<p>^^ The prevailing wisdom of many colleges and college experts is that Brownford is correct, SCEA pools are generally self-selective and therefore more competitive. See:</p>

<p>Harvard
[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Early Action](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/early.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/early.html)
“Historically, higher Early Action acceptance rates have reflected the remarkable strength of Early Action applicant pools—not less rigorous admissions standards.”</p>

<p>College Board
[Early</a> Decision & Early Action](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/early]Early”>Early Decision and Early Action – Counselors | College Board)
Many students believe applying early means competing with fewer applicants and increasing their chances for acceptance. This is not always true. Colleges vary in the proportion of the class admitted early and in the percentage of early applicants they admit. Higher admission rates for ED applicants may correlate to stronger profiles among candidates choosing ED. Students should ask the admission office whether their institution’s admission standards differ between ED and regular applicants, and then assess whether applying early makes sense given their own profile."</p>

<p>Yale
[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)
“Historically, the rate of admission among early applicants has been higher than the overall admission rate because many of our strongest candidates, from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, apply early. We therefore offer this advice: Apply for Single-Choice Early Action if you want to receive a decision in mid-December and you are confident of the credentials you will be presenting to the admissions committee early in your senior year.”</p>