Columbia Early Decision?

NickFlynn
Thu, 10 Dec 2015 12:51:05 +0000

It’s not quite that simple.

ED admit rates are higher, but that’s not the whole story. In general, ED pools are more qualified than the RD pool - more legacies, recruited athletes, recruited URMs, more wealthy applicants, etc…the detail vary by school, of course, but that’s generally the story.

The question comes down to “does the increased quality of the ED pool FULLY explain the higher admit rate?” and you will see people argue both sides of the issue vehemently.

Personally, I think that ED does help an applicant’s chances (although by less than ED rate would indicate because of the pool strength) but it doesn’t help all applicants equally - in particular, if you are a below average applicant (in terms of test scores, grades or whatever), you aren’t magically going to get a boost because you applied ED. However, if you are a very well qualified applicant, it probably does provide a decent boost to your chances.