Does applying earlier give you a boost?

Mwfan1921
Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:14:59 +0000

Agree with those who have said this varies by school.

Some schools definitely read before the deadline, and some of those read by HS. You do not need all the HS apps in to know some applicants aren’t going to be competitive.

Once shaping starts right before decisions are released, there can be significant changes wrt the buckets that apps are in at the end of that process vs where they started.

To answer OP’s question, I doubt there is a benefit to applying early in terms of admission likelihood but would be interested if any school had data on that. I think it’s just as easy to say AOs start out by being tough reviewers as saying they get tired later in the season. Lots of factors at play to be sure.