This is a link to an admissions overview for the most recent class. If you skip to around 17:18, Cpt. Fredie talks specifically about the early vs late thing.
To summarize, he notes that the core foundation of each class comes from Early Action, if they like what they see, but want to see a little more, they'll roll you to Regular Decision.
He also states that "whether you apply EA or RD, the sooner you apply, the sooner we get to look at you. It's a first apply, first review process due to limited staff. As soon as we're able to get all the information in the completed application package, we're able to get it to the Cadet Candidate Evaluation Board for review. And then it gets into the candidate pool for the admissions committee. So if a student waits until the last day to submit an application, we're probably not going to see that person until the very end. So that's kind of a risky proposition for the applicant because you're letting other folks get reviewed before you. The key is, if you're competitive, try to get your application in as soon as you can."
That said, I don't think there's any advantage to trying to submit the day after the application opens or anything like that. You need to take your time and be sure everything is as good and correct as it can possibly be! Strong personal statements, polished resume to attach, etc. I think the major take away from this video is don't wait until the last day, or even the last couple of days - especially for a regular decision application.
For reference, my 2027 daughter applied EA, submitted I think Sept 29 or 30, so a full 2 weeks before due. She received her appointment on the very first day they started communicating EA appointments.
Class of 2028 Admissions Update
