90star09

OK, so I know historically that there has been a higher admission rate for those that apply early action to MIT. I am currently a junior and scared out-of-my-MIND about college admissions. Apparently our class (2013) is the biggest one of all, making college admissions even for the top students in America extremely hard--and some would even say "random" as far as the selection process. So here's my question(s): is it still better to apply early action? I know that they say whenever you are truly ready to apply (as long as it's by the deadline) you should apply, but I really don't know how big of an impact it will have on my selection. I love MITs cognitive science programs and have been named top 10 in the nation for 1 competition for neuroscience as well as I have published a research paper in the field. Also, I am probably going to intern this summer at University of Chicago...since it's close to where I live. I am also attending the Harvard summer program and I'm going to try and not procrastinate on college essays....:/ So any advice from those of you who got in this year despite all the competition would be greatly appreciated as well

molliebatmit

It's likely that most (or all) of the reason that more students who apply early get in is because students who apply early are more likely to be good fits for MIT. It's not because MIT is preferentially selecting students who apply early, it's that students who apply early are more likely to have the characteristics that get people admitted.

Apply when you want to apply. It won't have an impact on whether or not you're selected.

k4r3n2

From what I've read, the EA acceptance statistics are basically the same as the RD acceptance statistics. For 2008, it was about 15% accepted, 70% deferred, 15% rejected, according my educational counselor.

The way I viewed EA was as two shots at being accepted (and advance notice that I needed to apply to more places if I was rejected). If your application is ready for EA and you're fairly confident that you won't want to change anything substantial, then go for it! If you get deferred and happen to cure cancer or something, you can always send an update letter. But I'd definitely echo Mollie that the EA kids that get accepted would most likely still be accepted if they had applied RD - it's not an extra push.

Cuca

If you don't get in EA, they'll give it another fair look during RD.

LauraN

Yeah, it actually is a very small question. It will have no effect on your admission, it's mostly just a matter of when you want to have your application done. I only applied early because MIT was my first choice, so the app was the most stressful, so I got it out of the way first. =)

ask-paul

If your application will be done in time, and you don't want to apply to a single-choice early school (which seem to be dwindling these days anyway), I'd advise for EA because there is no reason not to.

In the long run, though, as Mollie and Laura said, it doesn't really matter much - at MIT, early and regular decisions are on virtually equal footing; it's just that if you get deferred from EA, you get a completely new look during RD.

P.S. Minor issue, but this thread is more relevant in the main MIT forum, not the MIT 2012 sub-forum.

kryptonsa36

That hasn't been the case for more recent years, though, right?

k4r3n2

Historically, I think there's been a *slightly* higher acceptance rate for EA applicants than for RD applicants. Here is the most recent data available (for the class of 2011): MIT Admissions: Admissions Statistics

For EA, it was about 11.1%, and for RD, it was 10.0% acceptances. I'm not really sure how the class of 2012 will affect this, as we had a lot more EA acceptances (550ish as opposed to 390) but it will probably be about the same.

The way that the admissions office has traditionally explained the higher rate of EA acceptances (even if it isn't much) is by saying that EA applicants tend to have very strong applications, so they would have been admitted RD anyway. And, if you think about it, one of the major parts of admissions is the match between you and MIT, and if you're considering MIT as your #1 choice, hopefully that match is pretty strong.

tongchen1226

^ If you twist around the numbers from the admission statistics of Class of 2011, you'll see a larger difference between EA and RD:
Early Action Aggregate Admission Rate =
(# admitted in EA + # admitted after deferral) / (total # of EA applicants) =
(390+289)/3493 = 19.4%

Regular Action Admission Rate =
(# admitted RD - # admitted after deferral) / (total # of RD applicants) =
(1163-289)/8952 = 9.8%

I ignored the waiting list because it seems to be only a minimal part of admission statistics.

For the Class of 2012, I believe MIT admitted around 510 from EA (I'm too lazy too look up the other statistics), as a result of the changes to financial aid and early decision programs right before the admission cycle. This trend may be reduced in the coming years but will probably still persist. This may mean higher EA admission rates than that shown in the class of 2011.

Conclusion: whenever possible, you should always apply Early Action, because (if we ignore the self-selection parameter and a whole set of other subjective factors) it seems much easier to get in during EA than during RD.

molliebatmit

^Right, the difference doesn't come out in the EA acceptance rate vs. the RD acceptance rate (which are basically the same, but EA is usually slightly lower) but the students-who-originally-applied-EA rate vs. the students-who-originally-applied-RD rate. Many students who originally applied EA are admitted in the RD round.

Incidentally, I don't think this means there is an obvious advantage to applying early -- I still think it means there's an obvious advantage to being the type of person who is interested in applying to MIT early. I think it also helps, though, that EA applicants who are deferred are able to send supplemental materials to enhance their applications between December and February; they have the ability to reflect a little on things that might have been missing from their application during EA before their application is reviewed for RD. But I don't think anybody on the admissions end is systematically favoring EA applicants during RD.

90star09

Thank you so much for all your input so far...I think I will probably apply EA--mostly because MIT is my first choice It does seem that one should apply EA because if 70% of the early applicants get deferred--70% get another chance.

ask-paul

I could not have said it better myself.