Yada, yada, the same old canard that ED was about boosting the numbers. Someone within Admissions will some day have to tell us what the thinking actually was. As for me, I am more focussed on the effects - identifying among all the tens of thousands of applicants these days those who are the Chicago type. ED is a helpful tool in that sorting out. In the days of self-selection and few applicants that was not necessary. It is today. If it keeps out the ivy riffraff I won’t be too particular about the motivation. I will wax poetic about any kid of any SES who has Chicago as his or her first choice. And any kid deterred by the complexity or by the marginal advantage to be had in casting his lot broadly will have to settle for prose.