T25 schools where ED/REA doesn't confer an advantage

[Anonymous]

Can someone help me crowdsource a list?

In no particular order:

1. Cornell - didn't they take fewer ED applicants last cycle in the name of equity? If so, is it less advantageous?
https://cornellsun.com/2023/11/30/cornell-reduces-proportion-of-students-admitted-through-early-decision-track/

2. Georgetown - REA admits rates are LOWER than RD? What happens here is that most of the Early Applicants are deferred to regular decision. Thus, reducing the ED/REA acceptance rate and possibly increasing it for RD.

3. Stanford - REA admit rates - lots of rumors on this (Smaller REA admit pool, often dominated by hooked candidates with few slots left for unhooked)

Thoughts?
I know other Ivies might be listed here?

[Anonymous]

T5 such as Stanford:
REA Applicants are likely much stronger than RD Applicants. If you are not super strong, REA has no advantage.

T20 outside of T5:
ED Applicants are different from RD Applicants. Strong applicants unlikely apply ED T20. ED offers some advantage, only differing in degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:T5 such as Stanford:
REA Applicants are likely much stronger than RD Applicants. If you are not super strong, REA has no advantage.

T20 outside of T5:
ED Applicants are different from RD Applicants. Strong applicants unlikely apply ED T20. ED offers some advantage, only differing in degree.

I don’t understand your points under the second category. You’re saying strong applicants do not apply ED to these schools?

[Anonymous]

2. Georgetown - REA admits rates are LOWER than RD? What happens here is that most of the Early Applicants are deferred to regular decision. Thus, reducing the ED/REA acceptance rate and possibly increasing it for RD.

About 10% of REA-deferred applicants are accepted in RD. This puts the total acceptance rate for REA applicants, across both early and regular rounds, nearly double the rate for RD applicants.

[Anonymous]

Well, since Williams and Amherst should be on any list of top 25 schools: neither confers an ED advantage, unlike 10 years ago. 35% of class are athletes coming in ED, not to mention Questbridge and like programs. Better chance RD, and even AOs will admit this.

Of course, top non-hooked students would be stupid not to ED1 and ED2 to schools that actually do confer an ED advantage. Since many of these students will get in, the academic quality of the RD admits at Williams, Amherst and like athletic-heavy schools will continue to decline in an endless feedback loop…

[Anonymous]

So which T25 schools DO confer a real advantage to non-hooked applicants in ED?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T5 such as Stanford:
REA Applicants are likely much stronger than RD Applicants. If you are not super strong, REA has no advantage.

T20 outside of T5:
ED Applicants are different from RD Applicants. Strong applicants unlikely apply ED T20. ED offers some advantage, only differing in degree.

I don’t understand your points under the second category. You’re saying strong applicants do not apply ED to these schools?

If an applicant is strong enough to get in a T20 (other than T5) without ED, she will not ED T20, but will REA to a T5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, since Williams and Amherst should be on any list of top 25 schools: neither confers an ED advantage, unlike 10 years ago. 35% of class are athletes coming in ED, not to mention Questbridge and like programs. Better chance RD, and even AOs will admit this.

Of course, top non-hooked students would be stupid not to ED1 and ED2 to schools that actually do confer an ED advantage. Since many of these students will get in, the academic quality of the RD admits at Williams, Amherst and like athletic-heavy schools will continue to decline in an endless feedback loop…

The only SLACs having ED advantage I can think of are Barnard and Wellesley. Both are not into sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T5 such as Stanford:
REA Applicants are likely much stronger than RD Applicants. If you are not super strong, REA has no advantage.

T20 outside of T5:
ED Applicants are different from RD Applicants. Strong applicants unlikely apply ED T20. ED offers some advantage, only differing in degree.

I don’t understand your points under the second category. You’re saying strong applicants do not apply ED to these schools?

If an applicant is strong enough to get in a T20 (other than T5) without ED, she will not ED T20, but will REA to a T5.

I don’t think it’s possible to predict things that accurately. Many strong applicants will not REA at all because they have been told that it confers no advantage over RD at those schools.

[Anonymous]

In general, I think ED2 provides some real advantage. Athletes and hooks are accepted in ED1 for the most part. ED2 offers real advantage to kids without hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since Williams and Amherst should be on any list of top 25 schools: neither confers an ED advantage, unlike 10 years ago. 35% of class are athletes coming in ED, not to mention Questbridge and like programs. Better chance RD, and even AOs will admit this.

Of course, top non-hooked students would be stupid not to ED1 and ED2 to schools that actually do confer an ED advantage. Since many of these students will get in, the academic quality of the RD admits at Williams, Amherst and like athletic-heavy schools will continue to decline in an endless feedback loop…

The only SLACs having ED advantage I can think of are Barnard and Wellesley. Both are not into sports.

Agree with you Barnard and Wellesley are real ED schools. If these are your dream schools, ED Barnard, ED2 Wellesley if not accepted into Barnard.

[Anonymous]

MIT.

The problem though is that most T25 schools do confer an advantage with an ED/REA/SCEA app.

It distorts everything. Your average Harvard RD student is likely a Duke ED reject.

It doesn't seem to make any difference at MIT though, so good for them.

[Anonymous]

Emory, UChicago, Tulane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIT.

The problem though is that most T25 schools do confer an advantage with an ED/REA/SCEA app.

It distorts everything. Your average Harvard RD student is likely a Duke ED reject.

It doesn't seem to make any difference at MIT though, so good for them.

Maybe for white students? Otherwise, not true at our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In general, I think ED2 provides some real advantage. Athletes and hooks are accepted in ED1 for the most part. ED2 offers real advantage to kids without hook.

This isn’t true, ED2 rates are typically only a few points better than RD, at least at T25 schools.

The schools where the acceptance rate is significantly higher in ED1 are Chicago, Emory, and Wash U (the latter two have acceptance rates over 30 percent for ED1).