How much does EA/ED really help at top colleges?

Amduseus
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 05:21:21 +0000

I was looking at admissions percentages for Ivy League/other top colleges, and it’s clear that early admissions chances can be several times higher than regular chances.

However, I’d also imagine that part of this is because the people who apply to these colleges early are already somewhat certain that they are competitive at an elite level–for example, somebody applying early to Harvard had better be sure they’re a phenomenal applicant to begin with, whereas during RD there are still many excellent applicants but also those who are applying there as a huge reach. I’m also willing to bet that many people with college-specific hooks, such as legacy, are likely to apply early to the specific college where they have that advantage.

Is this an accurate way of thinking about the EA/ED process? How much would an ordinary applicant benefit from applying early, as opposed to their hooked competition?