Is EA used as a yield protection tool?

primitive_caffeine
Sat, 21 Jan 2023 18:51:31 +0000

I’ve been thinking about this, and I realize that practically every school practices yield-protection—not in the traditional demonstrated interest sense per say—but, all colleges look for fit. They want to make sure that you’re the kind of student that matches the vibe of the overall student body, and if they accept you, you’re likely to come because you and the school match so well. For example, I know two people now who got into Stanford REA and were deferred at USC. They were very academically driven, to the point of published papers, research and developed applications/startups. It’s easy to think that since they were so accomplished, USC would want them—after all, USC is arguably a lower ranked school compared to Stanford in terms of research, faculty and whatnot. But, simply, these students weren’t typical USC students, no matter how many accolades they might have. From what I’ve seen, USC likes applicants who truly functioned like regular high schoolers—these students might’ve played a sport, danced, written for the school newspaper etc.; their activities don’t have to boast research in their desired major, and honestly, I feel like USC would prefer if they didn’t. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that USC did not yield protect. You just weren’t the student they thought would thrive at USC, and conversely, they didn’t think USC could help you achieve your goals in a way other schools might.