The 16 Colleges Where Early Decision Gave No Advantage (2026)

The usual advice says Early Decision helps. In the colleges' latest filings, it didn't at 16 of the 105 colleges whose early round we can read. At these 16, Early Decision applicants were admitted less often than everyone else, or within a point of the same rate. The promise cost them the chance to compare offers and bought nothing in admission odds.

This post was first published with six colleges out of the 38 we could read then. We've since read 67 more filings, and the list grew with them.

The 16

"Everyone else" is every first-year applicant who didn't apply Early Decision; that rate and the differences are our arithmetic from each college's own counts.

Two of the original six have come off the list. American University's early applicants were admitted at 80.6% against 65.3%, a real if modest edge. RIT's were admitted about 2 points more often than everyone else, so it now sits just above the line, with two others (below).

Half of these rounds are small

At eight of the 16, fewer than 400 students applied Early Decision. Loyola Maryland's 157 early applicants were about 1% of its pool, and San Francisco's 85 were less than half a percent. In a round that size, a few decisions move the rate a long way, so a single year's gap is a weak signal on its own. What it does show is that the round isn't giving early applicants a lift.

Among the eight rounds of 400 or more, two show a gap of ten points or more. Case Western drew 1,053 early applicants and admitted a quarter of them, against 35.6% of everyone else. Brandeis drew 680 and admitted 35.6%, against 46.1%. Brandeis added a non-binding Early Action round only for students applying in fall 2025, so these figures predate it.

Why a binding round can come out lower

Early Decision applicants pick themselves. At a college that admits most of its applicants, many of the strongest ones spend their single binding application on a more selective school and apply to this one in the regular round. What's left in the early pool is a mix of students for whom the college really is the first choice and students hoping a promise will close a gap. When the second group is large enough, the early rate falls below everyone else's.

At the most selective colleges, the same mechanism runs the other way. Their early pools are full of students who would be competitive in any round, and the colleges have few seats to give. That's where multiples of three and more show up.

Just above the line

Three more colleges sit only about 2 points above it. RIT admitted 73.2% of early applicants and 71.0% of everyone else, Rensselaer 69.1% and 67.2%, and Connecticut College 40.7% and 39.1%. At those three, the binding round is close to a wash too.

What "no advantage" does and doesn't mean

It doesn't mean these are weak colleges or that you shouldn't attend one. It means the binding round is the wrong tool there. If one of them is your first choice and it runs a non-binding Early Action round, that gives you an early answer and keeps your freedom to compare aid offers in the spring. Case Western is one that does.

There is one honest reason to apply Early Decision anyway: you're certain, the published net price for your family's income works, and you want the decision settled in December. That's a legitimate choice. It just isn't an admissions advantage.

How to check any college in two minutes

Find the college's Common Data Set, usually posted by its institutional research office. Section C21 gives the number of Early Decision applicants and admits. Section C1 gives the totals for all first-year applicants. Subtract the early figures from the totals to get everyone else, divide admits by applicants for each group, and compare. If C21 is blank, the college either doesn't run a binding round or didn't report one.

About the numbers

Applicants and admits come from each college's latest Common Data Set available to us, filing year shown in the table: section C1 for the whole first-year pool and C21 for Early Decision. Rates for everyone else and the differences are our calculation. The 105 colleges are those whose filings report both sections in a form we could verify.

Name a college you're considering for Early Decision and see what it published and where your score sits, free. The comparison across your whole list is the paid document.