@LizzyM
First of all, thank you for sharing all your valuable experiences with the community and guiding us.
Applying your staircase theory, should we assume that the post-II acceptance rates for candidates interviewing early in the season (at the top of the stairs) might be higher than the average acceptance rate for a particular school? For instance, if School X’s average acceptance rate is 35% for all candidates, might the rate for these “top of the stair” candidates be much higher? This could be because the school wants them to matriculate, and they benefit from being at the front of the line.
I would also appreciate inputs from other esteemed members like
@Mr.Smile12,
@Goro, and
@Faha, or anyone else who might have reliable insight.