<p>Yeah…right! LOL! Only a very naive person would believe a university that says that ED/EA applicants are not given preference. Don’t get me wrong, most universities have an obligation to say that they do not give preference to any one type of applicant, be it ED/EA, wealthy (not requiring FA), URM etc… There are legal implications to making such an admission. However, in an age when all universities are protecting the yield, trying to outdo other universities in terms of selectivity, facing public scrutiny and watching the bottom line, evaluating an applicant’s interest in their institution is definitely a priority. In some cases, like Chicago or Georgetown, EA does not seem to give an advantage to applicants. I also think that Michigan residents do not benefit much from applying EA to Michigan for obvious reasons (low cost of attendance and limited number of applicants for a large number of places). But given the intense competition for the rapidly growing OOS and international applicant pools, and the lower yield for such applicants, EA makes a very real difference for non-residents.</p>