Hey guys! I was wondering whether applying early decision to a school would significantly increase my chances of getting accepted, or if it's not really that much of a difference? If it helps, I am considering applying ED to Northwestern. Any insights would be appreciated! Thanks!
Hi there! It's great that you're considering applying Early Decision to Northwestern. Applying early can indeed improve your chances of acceptance at some institutions for a few reasons.
First, admissions officers care a lot about how much you actually want to attend their school specifically, and there's no better way to demonstrate your commitment than saying if you're accepted, you won't apply anywhere else. Relatedly, schools care about their yield (the percentage of students that say yes to their offer of admission), and the ED round by definition has a 100% yield rate.
Additionally, there's a simple numbers game here, as applying ED means every spot in the class is available, and you're competing with fewer applicants (likely a few thousand instead of tens of thousands). By the time regular decision rolls around, sometimes more than half the spots in the class have already been filled ED, so you're competing with many more applicants for fewer spots.
Wishing you the best of luck in the application process, whether you ultimately choose to apply ED to Northwestern or another school!
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