The Power of Early Decision
In 2018-19, Trinity College accepted 79.2% of early-decision applicants vs. 8.2% of regular-admission applicants.
At Tulane… 32.2% vs. 1.4% ED to RD.
To everyone who applied to college 15+ years ago, Tulane is not a safer school!. No one gets into Tulane in RD.
Acceptance rates are regularly three times higher for early-decision versus regular-admission applicants at colleges such as Brown, Vanderbilt, Grinnell, Kenyon, and Claremont-McKenna….this list goes on! They are regularly at least two times higher at other institutions, including Holy Cross, Amherst, Columbia, and Rice. Even removing athletes, legacy applicants, and other institutional priorities, applying ED presents an advantage.
The advantage is typically smaller for early-action applicants to highly selective institutions, and in some cases, it affords no advantage.
Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy compile and update an amazing resource that outlines (given the data available) the ED, RD, and % of the class filled in ED at many colleges in the US. This data makes very clear the weight of ED in the college admissions process, and families should review and consider this data as they craft their college lists. Find their work here.
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