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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]All the coed, non-military LACs below Williams and Amherst, like Bowdoin, have ED2 to help reduce acceptance rates and increase yields.

Weaker schools offer ED2.

Stronger schools like Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Williams, Amherst, don't need to.

USNWR LAC:
Williams College #1
Amherst College #2
Pomona College #3
Swarthmore College #4
Bowdoin College#6
Carleton College #6
Claremont McKenna College #9
Middlebury College #11
Washington and Lee University#11
Vassar College #13
Davidson College #15
Grinnell College #15
Hamilton College #15
Colgate University #18
Haverford College #18
University of Richmond #18
Wesleyan University #18
Colby College #24
Bates College #25[/quote]

I'd guess Swarthmore and Pomona do EDII not because they're weaker schools, but because it gives them more control of their incoming class. Those two are the two most diverse non-specialized LACs in the country: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/campus-ethnic-diversity[/quote]

That does not sound completely reasonable. After all, wouldn't most top college want to "control" their incoming class? Also, regarding the USNSWR link on diverse schools, Wellesley and Amherst and similarly diverse to Swarthmore and Pomona. Not saying Swarthmore and Pomona are weak schools because they're both great schools, but the fact remains that most of the very top schools do not have two ED rounds.[/quote]
Keep in mind that both Amherst and Williams have a higher percentage of athletes than Swarthmore (no football team, less sports crazy conference) and, especially, Pomona (Claremont colleges share many teams). Amherst and Williams would probably have to increase to filling 60% of their class with ED if they had an ED2; that is the stuff of “lesser” schools like Middlebury and Wesleyan.

As for the diversity issue, Swarthmore (33% white domestic) and Pomona (34%) are also more diverse than Amherst (39%) or Williams (50%). Williams bends over backwards to get more URMs, but it’s Williamstown. Amherst bends over backwards and in all sorts of pretzel turns and succeeds, but at the cost of most kids there being in an athlete group or a minority group. (Division 3 athletes at these schools are overwhelmingly white to the uninitiated). Huge social divide there…

If you are a URM, metropolitan Philadelphia or California not so far from Los Angeles is a much easier sell. So much easier that you might be cool committing to either school ED2 if you don’t get into a top Ivy. On the other hand, URMs need to be seriously convinced before they commit to somewhat rural Amherst and super rural Williamstown. Such is the stuff of the RD round.

There you go: two reasons. Not saying they are dispositive or “correct;” but they at least merit consideration.[/quote]

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