Unfortunately, insufficient data for most colleges from my D26s small school.
I checked our Maia. For Tulane, my son’s school did better in RD admit rate over last 5 years. Similarly, rejected students in EA would have sometimes been admitted in RD based on grade and SAT profile (KEY STAT IMO). I am happy to do this for other schools for you if it is helpful. Obviously, Tulane is not overly meaningful so bringing it up only because it has been mentioned.
The point that should matter to OP who asked for help understanding early action… we need to look beyond the obvious. There is complexity based on several factors - yield sensitivity, whether there is also ED, how strong the applicant truly is, and more.
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I can also imagine reasons why this might vary between high schools. For example it’s possible that counselor and teacher letters might be higher quality either earlier or later in the season depending on when counselors and teachers have a higher letter writing load at that particular HS? I don’t know whether this would come into play at either HS mentioned in this thread but just using my imagination. ( At my kids’ HS there is lore about optimal timing for asking for letters. )
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Reminder that this post is not in the Cafe. All replies should address the OP and their question. Side bar conversations need to move to PM or please start a new thread. TIA
I had generally thought that one major motivation for the school was to spread out the huge number of applications, so that staff that evaluate these applications are not overwhelmed.
As others have mentioned the EA admissions rate is sometimes higher than the RD admissions rate. I never figured out to what extent this is based on the quality of applicants compared to any potential advantage of applying EA (rather than RD).
However to me one major plus of applying EA is that you can get answers earlier. Senior year of high school is stressful, with a lot of the stress related to now knowing where you will get accepted. If you get an EA acceptance early, this can help to relieve the stress.
And in some cases (not all) applying early to schools that have rolling admissions might have a very similar affect as applying EA.
Then there is the point that if you already know most of the schools that you are going to apply to, then why not apply early? Just get it done, go out for ice cream, and try not to worry about it while you wait for results.
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Another is that some early applicants (EA or early rolling) may have the college as a top choice, or top choice if FA / scholarships are enough, to the point that if they are admitted early (with enough FA / scholarships if applicable), they will matriculate early, rather than waiting until April. So the college then gets to fill some of its class with matriculated students early, reducing the remaining uncertainty it has in April.
Also, if a college happens to be like Maryland or Purdue that becomes much more selective in the “regular” round, applying EA maximizes the likelihood of admission.
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I have hesitated to go here but…
At schools with both EA and ED, EA functions as an enrollment sorting mechanism. In other words, it is fools gold to the applicant and real gold to enrollment management. Non-hooked EA admits skew academically stronger, and middle applicants are often routed into alternate pathways (Northeastern) or Spring Scholars/deferral funnels (Tulane). If a middle applicant will not convert ED2 and only values main-campus fall admission, RD can provide slightly better fall-only odds despite fewer seats. EA primarily increases optionality, not necessarily pure fall probability.
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In my opinion, EA is a good thing where offered on a student’s application list…and so are rolling admission schools. The first (sometimes few) acceptances are a great thing for high school seniors.
And for students who want their college decisions sooner than later (like my younger one), EA and rolling were the way to go. The very early non-binding acceptances gave her four months to further delve into her three acceptances. She had a wealth of information on which to make her matriculation decision…without needing to do it all after RD acceptance dates.
Another benefit…this kid had a great senior year. All applications were done by October 15. She had friends still doing applications over the holiday breaks in November and December…and my kid was happy to already have her acceptances.
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My kids (so therefore I) did the same thing at some schools, and for similar reasons. I just want people to realize that EA is not better because the admit percentages is better. This gives some power back to the applicants.
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I was disappointed to read that some schools no longer reply before year-end to EA applications, but I checked a few that I recall from our S19’s list (I can’t remember all but checked Trinity University and St Olaf), and they are still the same - most will specify their response timelines on the website. Although S19 ultimately attended one of his RD schools, the sense of relief when the EA acceptances rolled in, with merit attached, was terrific. So long as the student is ready to apply (no need to wait for something that will happen first semester senior year), there is no downside, and there are some great schools that offer this option. Your question about what’s in it for the schools was interesting, but I imagine it’s some combination of the points made by others above.
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One school that might be worth checking is Macalester. They offer ED1, ED2, EA, and RD. Since they’re not typically well-known for the Tulane/Northeastern ED push, it could be interesting to see if data for them shows fewer EA admissions than RD.
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I was surprised by this trend as well.
There are limited seats for some majors (like engineering, nursing, business) at large state schools that fill up in EA. So in addition to not being eligible for scholarships missing the EA deadline means an RD acceptance might get you a seat in the university, but you will have to work your way into those competitive majors. Some majors don’t allow students who were not accepted as an incoming freshman to ever join certain majors.
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Just want to add…we and our kids didn’t care at all what advantage this gave the college, or really them…in the admissions process. It was all about getting applications done early, and getting some admission decisions early for our kids.
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I think there is yield prediction at play here for the universities. Just like there are models showing that kids who visit campus are more likely to matriculate, I have to believe that there are models about higher yield rates for EA applicants too.
My D applied to one rolling admission school and it was a psychological game changer to have an acceptance in early October. She ended up not bothering with the extra essays for her other safety school that added essays for honors college and a supplemental scholarship. (Her safety came with full tuition merit, honors college, and $ for study abroad and was very solid for her major).
She applied EA everywhere she could have, mostly the big state schools that fill the bulk of their class in the EA round and where honors and merit are only given in EA. She had most of her EA decisions back by January, including her number 1 choice. That meant she blew off the supplemental scholarship essays that were offered by other schools as enticements. There were only two schools that didn’t release until around the end of March and by then she had mentally long written them off (and she was accepted to one of them).
My D had plenty of friends that committed as soon as the EA decision came from their #1. I don’t think that is necessarily unusual. D wanted to commit as well but we felt like she took the time to apply, she may as well wait for all her decisions, but really she was already mentally 100% committed. She never wavered for a second.
I also think that it makes it easier for schools to shape the class they want having the early options because they can better identify and fill in the missing gaps in RD. I wonder if the schools that use ED1/ED2/EA use their waitlists less?
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This is now the case (in fact, it has been for nearly a decade, I believe) at all the popular public schools — Michigan, Illinois, Georgia Tech (EA2), Maryland, Purdue, etc.
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another lost advantage of EA
You asked what benefits there were to schools in offering EA. Years ago, DS had a few EA schools on his list. The early acceptances, especially with merit $, gave him a chance to engage with these schools (day long re-visit, application for scholarships) and to maybe even fall in love with them before he got RD results. It also helped when he was deferred by his ED school by letting him know he had good options. Win win for both.
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Having tried to dig into Macalester (which has ED1/ED2/EA/RD), it looks like they accepted 82 off their waitlist last year (incoming 2025) and 63 the year before (incoming 2024). With a class size of just over 500, it seems like a fairly high number, but I don’t know the yield of that waitlist. I’d guess it’s probably quite low.
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