Note that Vanderbilt has a much more standardized test driven admissions process. Ask yourself whether that’s a better fit for your college application profile than Emory’s which is more holistically driven.
According to this article, about half of Emory’s class is filled by Early Decision applicants.
http://www.emory.edu/admission/pdf/ajc_earlydecision.pdf
“Students always want to know if an
early decision application gives them a
more favorable review, and the answer is
yes and no,” Latting said. “We judge early
decision candidates by the same criteria
as regular applicants. You’ll need to meet
the normal admission requirement, but
your enthusiasm and preference will give
you a slight bump. Of course that bump
is only an advantage if you know this is
really your first choice.”
This year Emory admitted 48 percent
of its freshman class from early decision
applicants, Latting said. Because Emory
wants most of its slots available to regular
admission applicants,that number won’t grow, he added.
“Early decision
is an application
that allows
a student to
raise his hand,
figuratively
speaking,
and tell us, ‘I’ve done my
research and I’ve thought
about my college decision,
and Emory is my clear first
choice.’ It’s a chance to get
your hat in the ring early.”