幾乎所有的申請者都知道美國的大學一定要儘早做申請工作，那早申請（早決定）的原因是什麼呢？資料清晰的顯示：早申請（早決定）學生的錄取比例非常高。下麵美國留學專家就分析一下三個主要原因有：
　　
　　體育特長：很多學校早申請的錄取比例高，因為教練要求招募有體育特長的學生。耶魯大學發言人TomConroy強調，在早申請的學生中，有很大部分是有體育特長的學生。

    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：私立文理學院——愛達荷學院，在2012年錄取了97%早申請學生，而正常申請的學生錄取率只有60%。招生主任BrianA.Bava說：“他們認為早申請的學生有更好的學術和語言成績，正常申請的學生群體會相對較弱，這也是正常申請錄取率驟降的原因。”

    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 won't pick anybody we don't believe won't 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 doesn't 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.'"
　　
　　忠誠度：很多學校都傾向於錄取那些表現出非常強烈的入讀該校的意願的學生。因為學生會通過早申請（早決定）專案申請該校，就表明該校是學生的第一選擇。“表決心”（demonstrated interest）會給予申請者決定性的優勢。St.Lawrence University招生主任Alison Almasian說：“雖然我們不會選擇那些我們認為不會成功的人，但那些對我們學校表現出的忠誠度的早申請者，確實會比那些沒有對我們學校表現出特別喜愛的正常申請學生得到更好的結果。”Lehigh University裡海大學的招生主任Leon Washington補充說：“我們很難拒絕那些對我們說‘我愛你們學校，我必須要去’的優秀年輕人們。”