BEYOND THE HEDGES: Early admission acceptances on the rise

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Colleges and universities are accepting a larger percentage of their freshman class from the pool of early applicants. By Christmas, Harvard University, Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology had already sent out enough letters of acceptance to fill about half of next fall's freshman classes. The consequence is greater competition among applicants in the spring for the smaller number of regular decision spots.

This year, record numbers of students applied early, in order to "beat the odds."

At the Kaplan Education Centers, the number of sophomores signing up to take SAT preparation courses jumped 50 percent in 1995 over 1994.

Although only 15 percent of all schools offer the early action or early decision options, nearly all of the most selective schools do. Stanford University instituted a binding early admission policy this year because according to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions James Montoya, Stanford was losing exceptional students to other comparable schools who did have the early decision program.

According to Carl Bewig, director of college counseling at Andover, some colleges use early admissions to show how selective they are. Because most early decision acceptances are binding, the "yields" or the number of those accepted who matriculate, are high.

Those who oppose this trend feel that the long-term implications are troubling, especially for those who need financial aid because they cannot "shop" for the best deal in colleges.

"Some would argue that the early programs are for the wealthy," Bewig said. "For kids who really need to compare and weigh, for whom affordability is as important as admissibility in the process, the early programs are not an option."

Source: Newsweek Magazine, April 29.

This item appeared in the News section of the May 17, 1996 issue.

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