几乎所有的申请者都知道美国的大学一定要尽早做申请工作，那早申请（早决定）的原因是什么呢？数据清晰的显示：早申请（早决定）学生的录取比例非常高。下面美国留学专家就分析一下三个主要原因有：
  体育特长：很多学校早申请的录取比例高，因为教练要求招募有体育特长的学生。耶鲁大学发言人TomConroy强调，在早申请的学生中，有很大部分是有体育特长的学生。

1. Athletics: Many schools early admission rates appear high because coaches often push recruited athletes, who are pre-screened, through early to ensure commitments. Yale University, for example, accepted 730, or 13.9 percent, of its 5,261 early applications last year. Meanwhile, Yale says it accepted just 1,309, or 5.6 percent, of the 23,273 regular candidates. But Yale spokesman Tom Conroy noted that many of the early applicants were recruited athletes. Yale has analyzed the different applicant groups and concluded that early applicants face the same academic standards as regular applicants. "We do not have a statistically significant preference for early applicants," Conroy says.

  生源好：私立文理学院——爱达荷学院，在2012年录取了97%早申请学生，而正常申请的学生录取率只有60%。招生主任BrianA.Bava说：“他们认为早申请的学生有更好的学术和语言成绩，正常申请的学生群体会相对较弱，这也是正常申请录取率骤降的原因。”

2. Better students: The College of Idaho, a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho, admitted 97 percent of its early action applicants in 2009 because early applicants tend to have better grades and test scores, says Admissions Director Brian A. Bava. "A weaker pool (relative to those who apply earlier on) may partly explain why the admission percentage dips" to about 60 percent for the regular applicants, he says.

3. Commitment: Some colleges give preferences to applicants who show they really want to attend that school. Since students who apply through "Early Decision" programs are indicating the college is their first choice and that they will attend, that "demonstrated interest" can give a decisive edge to marginal applicants at some colleges. "We wont pick anybody we dont believe wont be successful," says St. Lawrence University Admissions Director Alison Almasian. But an early applicant who shows a commitment to St. Lawrence might very well receive happier news than a similarly qualified student who applies in the regular pool and doesnt show a special love for the campus. "A sense of match takes on greater importance" at small, remote campuses like St. Lawrence, Almasian says. Leon Washington, dean of admission at Lehigh University in West Bethlehem, Pa., adds: "It is really difficult to say no to outstanding young men and women who say, I love you. I want to be there."

  忠诚度：很多学校都倾向于录取那些表现出非常强烈的入读该校的意愿的学生。因为学生会通过早申请（早决定）项目申请该校，就表明该校是学生的第一选择。“表决心”（demonstrated interest）会给予申请者决定性的优势。St.Lawrence University招生主任Alison Almasian说：“虽然我们不会选择那些我们认为不会成功的人，但那些对我们学校表现出的忠诚度的早申请者，确实会比那些没有对我们学校表现出特别喜爱的正常申请学生得到更好的结果。”Lehigh University里海大学的招生主任Leon Washington补充说：“我们很难拒绝那些对我们说‘我爱你们学校，我必须要去’的优秀年轻人们。”