Does applying early decision really help your chances of getting into college? If you have your heart set on any of these 35 schools, applying early could give you a real advantage in the admissions process. All of these highly-selective schools admit significantly larger percentage of students who apply early decision than those that apply at the regular admissions deadline. Read on to see 35 schools with a large early decision advantage. Click the heart to save a school or your list, and visit the school profile for ED deadlines and notifications dates.
Grinnell Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 65% Regular Acceptance Rate: 19% ED Advantage: 40%
Bates Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 46% Regular Acceptance Rate: 14% ED Advantage: 32%
Denison Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 57% 2021 Overall Acceptance Rate: 28% ED Advantage: 29%
Washington and Lee Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 53% Overall Acceptance Rate: 25% ED Advantage: 28%
Haverford Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 46% Overall Acceptance Rate: 18% ED Advantage: 28%
Skidmore Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 60% Overall Acceptance Rate: 32%% ED Advantage: 28%
Hamilton Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 46% Overall Acceptance Rate: 18% ED Advantage: 27%
Davidson Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 47% Overall Acceptance Rate: 20% ED Advantage: 27%
Middlebury Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 47% Overall Acceptance Rate: 22% ED Advantage: 25%
Williams Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 39% Overall Acceptance Rate: 15% ED Advantage: 24%
Vassar Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 46% Overall Acceptance Rate: 25% ED Advantage: 21%
Wesleyan Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 41% Overall Acceptance Rate: 21% ED Advantage: 20%
Pitzer Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 37% Overall Acceptance Rate: 17% ED Advantage: 20%
Amherst Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 32% Overall Acceptance Rate: 12% ED Advantage: 20%
Johns Hopkins Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 29% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 20%
Wellesley Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 39% Overall Acceptance Rate: 20% ED Advantage: 19%
WashU Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 35% Overall Acceptance Rate: 16% ED Advantage: 19%
2021 Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 28% Overall Acceptance Rate: 10% ED Advantage: 18%
2021 Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 45% Overall Acceptance Rate: 27% ED Advantage: 18%
Northeastern Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 38% Overall Acceptance Rate: 20% ED Advantage: 17%
Dartmouth Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 26% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 17%
Duke Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 25% Overall Acceptance Rate: 8% ED Advantage: 17%
Northwestern Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 25% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 16%
RISD Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 42% Overall Acceptance Rate: 27% ED Advantage: 15%
Swarthmore Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 24% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 15%
BU Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 33% Overall Acceptance Rate: 20% ED Advantage: 13%
Bowdoin Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 22% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 13%
Tulane Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 23% Overall Acceptance Rate: 11% ED Advantage: 12%
Barnard Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 26% Overall Acceptance Rate: 14% ED Advantage: 12%
Cornell Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 23% Overall Acceptance Rate: 11% ED Advantage: 12%
UVA Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 34% Overall Acceptance Rate: 23% ED Advantage: 11%
Cooper Union Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 24% Overall Acceptance Rate: 13% ED Advantage: 11%
UPenn Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 19% Overall Acceptance Rate: 9% ED Advantage: 10%
Columbia Early Decision Acceptance Rate: 17% Overall Acceptance Rate: 6% ED Advantage: 11%
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