<p>I think I may have been one of those who created that impression. I may have been repeating something I read in another post. If I come across the cite I will post it. </p>
<p>What I can tell you is the following: 1) that it is Wesleyan’s policy to accept an ED applicant if the adcom is reasonably sure that the same applicant would be accepted anyway, if they deferred them to RD, 2) that for most of the elite colleges that were part of a 2002 Harvard study, ED scores of applicants tended to be slightly lower than those for RD applicants: [url=<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/argus/archives/aa_archive_jan292002/dateyear/n2.html]n1[/url”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/argus/archives/aa_archive_jan292002/dateyear/n2.html]n1[/url</a>] </p>
<p>however, 3) in the case of Wesleyan, the ED scores were actually higher: [url=<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/argus/archives/aa_archive_feb222002/dateyear/n2.html]n1[/url”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/argus/archives/aa_archive_feb222002/dateyear/n2.html]n1[/url</a>]</p>
<p>What are we to make of this? One explanation may be the one proffered by Dean Pyke at the time, i.e., that “the bottom fell out” in terms of the scores of certain ED applicants, a kind of self-selection – or, rather, non-selection process on the part of applicants with weaker stats.</p>
<p>Another possible explanation is that people with comparatively higher scores might see ED as a “tipping point” in their favor and may be seeking to cement their chances at a school where their chances for admission may have been quite good in any event.</p>
<p>Who might fall into this category? Athletes who score too high to merit a coach’s “tip” but, want some stronger assurance of getting in; legacies who score well enough to get in on their own merits, but, who like the athlete who isn’t at all sure of what the competition looks like – wants the extra assurance.</p>
<p>In other words, it may not be that Wesleyan is “filling up” on these kids, but that there may be a higher percentage of them in the ED applicant pool.</p>
<p>If that is the case, HUMANISTS, nerds, and second-generation Williams legacies needn’t fear. :p</p>