Lower acceptance rate for early decision?

Applying to College
1

<p>My top school has a slightly lower acceptance rate for their binding early decision apps than the regular apps, which is what I plan to do. Would their be any reason why a school would have a lower rate for their ED apps?</p>

<p>I mean do you think it has to do with a ton of extremely gifted kids who apply to this school as a safety with the regular apps? The school is Cal polytech and is very well regaurded, but not as good as UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkley, and obviously Stanford which are Californias top schools. My theory is that the high number of achievers applying for Cal Poly as a safety and not attending affects the regular decision rates. Anybody know a real answer?</p>

2

<p>If a college accepts X students from ED, they’re pretty sure that X (or a few less) will be attending. However, for RD, they need to admit more than they want to attend, because of yield percentages. This could be the reason.</p>

3

<p>Ok but than what are the advantages of ED if you chances to get into a school you want to go to are lowered?</p>

4

<p>I was just speculating, plus, I don’t want to apply anywhere ED, so I’m not the best person to justify it.</p>

5

<p>Two big advantages are that you get the issue settled sooner and don’t have to worry about it, and that you save the work of preparing all the other applications.</p>

6

<p>^ Second that. Otherwise, there’s no advantage to ED if it is even more selective/has a lower acceptance rate. </p>

<p>But typically that’s not the case.</p>

7

<p>What school are you applying to? That’s a rare phenomenon.</p>

8

<p>My theory on this is that ED is a foreign concept to students planning on attending a CA state school so they don’t get many ED apps.</p>

9

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Cal polytech, and I agree, that is strange</p>