Out of millions of applicants each year, only 30% of the students get into their desired universities through Early Decision. As per the prior beliefs, the admission process of Early Decision has no significant difference with Regular Decision. Is that still the case though? Or will applying in early decision increase your chances of getting in?
Recent data shows that applicants across the board have a higher chance of gaining acceptance when they apply through early decision, even with differences in candidate strength. This means that the average student is more likely to get in when he or she applies early decision than when the same student applies regular decision to the same school.
Are the students in the Early Decision pool more qualified?
If we look at the numbers, we will notice that most schools have higher acceptance rates for early decision applicants, sometimes significantly so. To the untrained eye, this might make it seem like the early decision is an easier round of admissions, but this ignores a big piece of the puzzle.
Students who apply early decision might be more qualified overall than those who apply regular decision. After all, they are the students who have decided months ahead of time where they want to attend college. While it’s hard to find statistics about the average SAT or GPA of early decision applicant pools, it’s safe to say that students who apply early are forward-thinking planners who pay close attention to details.
Conclusion
While it is clear that universities tend to slightly favour the students from the early decision pool, it is not necessarily true that all the students applying in the early decision will get in. But if you have done your research and sure about the university, then itis definitely better to apply in early decision.