It may be a fair assumption that a student who truly had an interest in a school would take advantage of EA. There is no downside to it, as its not binding. Its like visiting a school when you are fairly nearby – not doing it indicates a lack of interest. Of course, thats not true in every case. Many kids may not have had their applications together in time, or discovered the school later in the search. But when the school has more than enough qualified applicants who did choose EA, I can understand how they could make that calculation.