The college admission code isn’t a code that can be cracked easily. There are no hard and fast rules that apply for all colleges and the selection criteria aren’t entirely objective. But data can provide us with some clues into admission chances.
Generally, the difference between the rates of early admission and regular admission are small, suggesting that the timing of your application really doesn’t hold much weight. However, there are some colleges where there is a significant difference between admission rate, in particular in the case of binding early decision rates (as opposed to a non-binding early application) among mostly liberal arts colleges. For example, the early decision rate of American University is more than triple the rate of the regular decision rate.
In the case that you really would love to attend one of the colleges below over any other, then an early application could potentially increase you chances.
| College | ED Admit rate | RD Admit rate | Difference |
| American University | 84.7% | 25.9% | 58.8% |
| Amherst College | 39.6% | 13.8% | 25.8% |
| Bucknell University | 59.7% | 29.9% | 29.7% |
| Carleton College | 56.3% | 22.6% | 33.6% |
| Colby College | 49.5% | 29.9% | 19.6% |
| Columbia University |
20.7% |
6.3% |
14.4% |
| Claremont McKenna College |
31.9% |
9.4% |
22.4% |
| Dickinson College | 71.0% | 22.6% | 48.4% |
| Grinnell College | 47.4% | 22.5% | 24.9% |
| Haverford College | 51.3% | 21.4% | 29.9% |
| Lehigh University | 59.9% | 26.1% | 33.8% |
| Middlebury College | 41.9% | 16.1% | 25.7% |
| Northwestern University | 33.3% | 10.7% | 22.7% |
| Oberlin College | 62.6% | 28.0% | 34.6% |
| Trinity College | 59.3% | 33.4% | 25.9% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 37.6% | 16.5% | 21.0% |
| Wesleyan University | 38.5% | 17.8% | 20.7% |
If you are considering applying early but need help with choosing a college to apply early to, or need help with college admissions in general then consider Empowerly´s services. Sign up below for a free consultation.
