Common sense dictates that the first in line get the best seats in the house. And as competition for college admissions intensifies, you are seeking ways to get to the head of the line. In some cases, you’ve already applied to a college under an early-decision process way before your classmates have started thinking seriously about school.
Early decision Yale President Richard C. Levin recently voiced strong opposition to the early-decision option, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Beloit College in Wisconsin have both dropped their programs. However, 262 other schools across the country still offer this increasingly controversial and competitive admissions method, which requires a binding commitment from you.
If you are accepted under early decision, you agree to withdraw all other applications and pledge to attend the school. Locking into a college early takes some of pressure off you, but how beneficial is it in the long run?
Don Emmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, says, “If a student has done sufficient research in looking at colleges, has a strong sense of what they want and have measured their needs and expectations for college, it is possible to find an appropriate fit. If they apply early decision and are admitted, it certainly takes them out of the whole fray of the college-selection process.”
According to Nicole Eichin, manager of college counseling at College Coach, you have a distinct admissions advantage if you take the initiative: establish and maintain contact with the school, visit and apply early. “If students show their interest in the school, it helps give them a leg up,” she says.
When Eric Olsen was a high school junior four years ago, he visited Bentley College in Massachusetts. “I looked around and knew that’s where I wanted to go. It was my number-one choice,” he says. “It had everything I was looking for in a school.” Although he did apply to several other colleges, Olsen responded enthusiastically to his early-acceptance offer from Bentley.
In recent years, early decision has become an effective tool for driving up a college’s selectivity. Amherst fills approximately 45 percent of its incoming class with early-decision applicants, while the University of Pennsylvania approaches 40 percent. In some instances, the rate reaches as high as 60 percent, to the detriment of some applicants. “The more students a college brings in early, the fewer seats there are for the larger pool of candidates – the regular admissions,” says Emmons.
Early action An alternative to early decision, early action has been implemented at some schools. Linda Buckley, guidance counselor at Clinton High School in Massachusetts, says that, for students who need to review financial-aid packages before making a final decision, early action might be a better option than early decision.
This non-binding agreement offers acceptance but doesn’t require action until May 1, the universal tuition deposit date. Some colleges offer early action in addition to or in lieu of early decision.
New York’s Union College dean of admissions Dan Lundquist says that high school counselors feel you should not be coerced into making an early, and possibly unwise, choice of schools. By prolonging your search process, you can achieve greater maturity and self-awareness, look carefully at all your options and focus more clearly on finishing your senior year.
“As an admissions professional, I don’t feel that the emphasis should be placed on early decision, but rather a smart decision,” says Monique Cossich, director of admissions at Angelo State University in Texas. “Students should put some thought into the college search process and not rely solely on name recognition or what they hear.”
