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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There really isn't that much advantage to ED acceptances (most indicate a 1-2% chance advantage at best--people don't know how to interpret admission rates properly) to make it worth the risk.

Unfortunately there is a big advantage to applying ED. Some private high schools have graduating classes where the majority of the class applies ED somewhere. Many colleges get approx 50% of their freshman class from ED. For example, one school that has a 28% admit rate for RD, has a 40% admit rate for ED. Another has a 25% admit ED and about a 10% for ED. There have been many articles written about how ED is a tool for the wealthy and how unfair it is to the non wealthy. A few years ago several schools eliminated it for that very reason. [/quote]

No, this is a common misconception. Even if a school gets 50% of their class from ED, this doesn't make as much an advantage as you think.  You can't compare the numbers because for ED they know everyone will come (they promised in the contract).  For RD, they accept far more than they know will attend (yield rates are often around 20%).  Students who choose ED for a school are also likely to be closer to the target profile (school counselors heavily advise which are ED fits--and kids have the perception they shouldn't waste their ED shot on a reach school). The real comparison is to look at the admitted profiles (sometimes you need to do this after weeding out the ED recruited athletes)--how similar are GPAs/SAT scores?  That tells you the advantage.  And in most cases there is very little difference.  Colleges love ED because it helps them stabilize enrollment.  Private high schools love ED because it erases negative competition between classmates--they can really direct their students to different ED schools so they are not in competition with one another as much. Parents and kids are the real losers with ED because they are tricked into thinking it's going to give them a major advantage and they lose the ability to compare packages.  Yes, it does favor the wealthy because it does offer slightly higher admission rates -- but only a 1 - 2% advantage according to best estimates.  And the advantage is waning the more students who choose to apply ED.
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