<p>In the letter, Yale goes out of its way to caution irrational optimism based on legacy status. Although the admission rate is high - something like 30% - they emphasize that Yale progeny tend to be very highly qualified anyway, just because of how they’ve been raised and opportunities they’ve had. </p>
<p>There’s been some discussion on CC about the high number of legacy applicants being deferred this year; it definitely doesn’t give you a gigantic boost, if the anecdotal information here means anything.</p>
<p>Regarding the Columbia ED vs. Yale SCEA question, you really need to know if you would be happy going to Columbia, since it’s binding. They take a high percentage of early apps, so I’m guessing your chances would actually be higher there. But if you’re not in love with Columbia, that’s not really going to help.</p>