<p>CerebralAssassin, ED or not, the student bodies at the elite schools are disproportionately wealthy because they are the ones who can afford the expensive tuition. Middle-income families have a hard time coming up with the money even though on paper it says they can, and the lowest income of all automatically qualify for a lot of aid. When you take in a lot of wealthy high-stats applicants though, you leave FA not just for the low-income but also the middle. I’m actually not even sure if taking in a greater % of kids ED would increase the proportion of wealthy students admitted, but in the event that it does, it will also ironically allow more low-income students students into the school. It might be premature to say though that this will create a separate-but-unequal situation. Who says they can’t coexist? A lot of elite schools are this way already (probably including Northwestern) and I haven’t really noticed much in the way of tension among different socioeconomic groups. Maybe pressure to spend while on a limited budget, but you will encounter that anywhere unless you live in an economically segregated neighborhood already (which is better?).</p>
<p>Taking in 50% of kids ED would still leave plenty of room for those who are not sure about Northwestern or don’t have it at the top of their list. What is a school to do though when making decisions given the info they have? They will naturally choose the ones who display the most interest who have strong credentials at the same time.</p>