Best use of ED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

[Anonymous]

I'd add to watch what the schools are doing with ED. When they announce that a % of ED was URM, first time university students and athletes, if your kid is none of those then the odds are actually much lower than they look. Totally agree!! Every school uses ED or SCEA differently. For my high stats (3.98 UW, 12 APs, 1560 SAT) unhooked boy, we found about 6-8 colleges that use ED to grab up high stats kids. He found one of those colleges that he loved. Result: he’s going to a Top 10 school that he certainly would have been shut out of in RD.

Full pay kids have a significant advantage and can ED while other kids need to compare offers - that's a massive hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd add to watch what the schools are doing with ED. When they announce that a % of ED was URM, first time university students and athletes, if your kid is none of those then the odds are actually much lower than they look.

Totally agree!! Every school uses ED or SCEA differently. For my high stats (3.98 UW, 12 APs, 1560 SAT) unhooked boy, we found about 6-8 colleges that use ED to grab up high stats kids. He found one of those colleges that he loved. Result: he’s going to a Top 10 school that he certainly would have been shut out of in RD.

Please share...what are those schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd add to watch what the schools are doing with ED. When they announce that a % of ED was URM, first time university students and athletes, if your kid is none of those then the odds are actually much lower than they look.

Totally agree!! Every school uses ED or SCEA differently. For my high stats (3.98 UW, 12 APs, 1560 SAT) unhooked boy, we found about 6-8 colleges that use ED to grab up high stats kids. He found one of those colleges that he loved. Result: he’s going to a Top 10 school that he certainly would have been shut out of in RD.

Please share...what are those schools?

UVA
W&M
Northwestern
UChicago
WashU
Vanderbilt

There are others, and you can figure out how they use ED by backing out from the CDS data they give. DS EDd at Northwestern and was excited to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

Bates College. 80% enrolled were accepted ED in 2025. Here’s a list of the colleges where ED helps the most:

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/early-decision-schools-that-double-admission-odds

[Anonymous]

Here’s a comprehensive list. There are selective colleges filling 60+% ED.

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/early-decision-enrollment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd add to watch what the schools are doing with ED. When they announce that a % of ED was URM, first time university students and athletes, if your kid is none of those then the odds are actually much lower than they look.

Totally agree!! Every school uses ED or SCEA differently. For my high stats (3.98 UW, 12 APs, 1560 SAT) unhooked boy, we found about 6-8 colleges that use ED to grab up high stats kids. He found one of those colleges that he loved. Result: he’s going to a Top 10 school that he certainly would have been shut out of in RD.

Please share...what are those schools?

UVA
W&M
Northwestern
UChicago
WashU
Vanderbilt

There are others, and you can figure out how they use ED by backing out from the CDS data they give. DS EDd at Northwestern and was excited to get in.

ED1 anywhere but HYPSM and you are not facing the toughest competition. Maybe it would give you a slightly better chance than ed2 or RD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'd add to watch what the schools are doing with ED. When they announce that a % of ED was URM, first time university students and athletes, if your kid is none of those then the odds are actually much lower than they look. Totally agree!! Every school uses ED or SCEA differently. For my high stats (3.98 UW, 12 APs, 1560 SAT) unhooked boy, we found about 6-8 colleges that use ED to grab up high stats kids. He found one of those colleges that he loved. Result: he’s going to a Top 10 school that he certainly would have been shut out of in RD.

Full pay kids have a significant advantage and can ED while other kids need to compare offers - that's a massive hook.

It can be helpful on the margin but is far from massive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Used it for a high target/low reach SLAC that was my DS’s top choice. He got in. He is not an athlete but I noticed on the school’s parent FB page that almost all of the other ED admits were athletes.

My kids were recruited athletes (1 at D1 Ivy and 2 at D3 NESCAC; all were required to apply EA/ED. Legacies are also told to apply EA/ED if they want that hook to count. For these reasons, the EA/ED stats can be of little relevance to many applicants.

I’m glad I didn’t realize this until after he was admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

Bates College. 80% enrolled were accepted ED in 2025. Here’s a list of the colleges where ED helps the most:

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/early-decision-schools-that-double-admission-odds

The PP said "MANY schools fill up 80% of their class with ED". As you note and the link shows there is only 1 that does so. Indeed fewer than 10 out of 200 (5%) fill more than 60% of the class ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ED is best used for a school that is within reach but not a shoe-in.

Shoo-in.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Someone pedantic has found this thread. The Stats Police and the Grammar Police all in one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

In 2021, Bates did. 81% actually. Claremont McKenna was 71%. The ones that are egregiously high (in the 50-60+% range you mentioned), are predominantly SLACs. Varsity athletes take up 25-30% of the student bodies at these schools, and most of these are ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

Bates College. 80% enrolled were accepted ED in 2025. Here’s a list of the colleges where ED helps the most:

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/early-decision-schools-that-double-admission-odds

I’m glad people shared these links, and I guess class of 2026 data will be complied in the coming months? To be a fully informed consumer, note the ED vs RD acceptance rate at the particular colleges you are considering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the “clear first choice” prerequisite is bad strategy.

It may be that ED rates are not as good once you back out the athletes, etc. It is also true that every school is different.

That said, as a rule, your chances are better for ED than RD and EA. Many schools fill up 80% of their class with ED. Of your kids goal is to find a spot at a top school that he can be happy at, then ED at place where you’re a high match or slight reach. Do not blow it on an Ivy unless you have hooks.

No school fills 80% of class with ED. The schools with most reliance on ED (and I've looked at dozens) is 50-60%.

In 2021, Bates did. 81% actually. Claremont McKenna was 71%. The ones that are egregiously high (in the 50-60+% range you mentioned), are predominantly SLACs. Varsity athletes take up 25-30% of the student bodies at these schools, and most of these are ED.

Chicago was nearly 80% this year.