The Power of Applying Early

While many colleges are forthcoming about the advantage of applying Early Decision or Restricted Early Action, few actually parse out the statistical difference between the two application rounds. Given that – and with Early Decision and Early Action deadlines looming – we spent some time weeding through last cycle’s admissions statistics, uncovering some data to guide our students’ decision-making.

While most schools provide regular data about their Early and Regular acceptance rates, some highly selective universities (such as Stanford and Princeton) have begun withholding that information. We gathered as much data as we could from the most selective colleges and universities around the country, and found that the advantage of applying Early remains strong.

At Harvard, for example, the acceptance rate last year was 3.1% overall, but in the Regular Decision round, it was actually only 2.3%. So what does that mean for students who applied Early? In this case, the Early acceptance rate was 7.9% – still shockingly low, but nearly three times higher than Regular Decision. 

However, as we all know, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Stronger students tend to apply Early, as do legacies and athletes, which drives up acceptance rates. But the power of an Early application is undeniable. 

See for yourself below.

Bar graph comparing Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision acceptance rates at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale
Bar graph comparing Early Decision and Early Action acceptance rates with Regular Decision and overall acceptance rates at Amherst, Barnard, Bowdoin, Davidson, Middlebury, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams
Bar graph comparing Early Decision and Early Action acceptance rates with Regular Decision and overall acceptance rates at Boston College, Duke, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Northeastern, Northwestern, UVA, and Vanderbilt

Need help with your college applications? LogicPrep’s College Advising team is made up of former admissions officers from top schools such as UChicago, Duke, UVA, Middlebury, and Vassar. Together they have over 60 years of experience evaluating over 75,000 applications and leverage their insight to help students craft compelling personal narratives and find the best fit schools for them. In addition to providing their expertise to students and families, our College Advisors collaborate frequently to share their knowledge and review all students’ applications together. 90% of our students are admitted to one of their top 3 colleges.

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