@3mamagirls, @college582 summed it up pretty well. There is a ton of competition between schools in the research triangle and Elon is striving to compete with the more prestigious schools in the region by increasing its yield and lowering acceptance rate. Elon has a small inferiority complex and is committed to doing everything it can to move up in the world of higher education, especially in NC. If you commit to Elon ED and meet their baseline metrics, your chances are high. Every ED acceptance helps push Elon’s metrics up into that next tier of competition.
EA on the other hand, much harder. They know that those applying EA also applied or will apply to Duke, Wake, etc., and based on rating/prestige would choose those over Elon. So the school does not want to accept someone simply to be turned down in favor of the local competition. They will put those who are not exceptional or have not shown a ton of interest back into the RD pool and see what they get after others have been turned away from top tier schools. Good news is that there are still a lot of acceptances RD since they have to fill the class at the end of the day.
My daughter was deferred EA with a 32 ACT but accepted RD and given merit. At the EA time-frame Elon was not her first choice and she would have gone to Richmond or Villanova had she gotten in to either. She had not visited the school and had not show any real interest above the application. That is the applicant Elon knows is in the EA pool and wants to avoid.
While Elon was never my daughters first choice until the final day when she knew her fate at the other two, she now cannot think of going anywhere else. She has fallen in love with the school over the first semester despite blowing out her knee and having to deal with getting around campus on crutches. She has a great group of friends, loves the social aspects of Elon, and feels there is a good balance between academics and other activities/programs the university has to offer.
I followed CC religiously last year, living and dying with my daughter over the college acceptance experience. What I learn; it is a crap shoot at best and unless you are going to an Ivy League school do not fret too much over the rejections. Find a few places where you can see yourself for the nest 4 years and once your fate is decided, go make the most of what has been offered. If you dwell on the past and what might have been, you will never find what could be.