Of course PhD’s from Cal Tech,MIT, or other such schools are very useful degrees but that was never the point made. At any rate all of these posts are far afield from the question asked. The applicant wants to know if his ED is more likely as an international in a need blind school top ranked school. No one can answer this question in a meaningful way. Amherst has a deceivingly high ED admit rate but most of the students have hooks. Statistically Brown is even harder. Unless the applicant has a hook the chance of admission to either is low single digits even assuming the grades/SAT’s are great.