Harvard’s September 12 announcement that it will abolish early decision has had other schools mulling their own admissions policies. An article in The Washington Post on Wednesday, September 13 quoted admissions officials about the pros and cons of early decision—apparently, less prestigious schools rely on early decision to cement their applicant pools, a problem Harvard and UVA may not be as concerned with.
Early decision admissions take applications up to several months early; students designate the school as their first choice, and in binding early decision, they pledge to enroll if accepted.
“This probably will not impact Harvard’s ability to enroll their most desired students. It would be a very different matter if this bold move was taken by schools that sit just outside the Ivy League,” Karen Giannino, an admissions dean at Colgate University told the Post.
Yet it’s been determined that early decision does not appeal to minority or needy students, but rather affluent whites who know how to play the admissions game. A desire to “level the playing field” was the main factor in Harvard’s decision, according to Admissions Dean William R. Fitzsimmons, who spoke to the Post.
And UVA’s Dean of Admissions John Blackburn seems to agree. “Change is good,” he told the Post. “I think what most of us are seeing is that low-income students do not apply to early programs. I suspect that Harvard’s decision will eventually say to other schools, ‘Maybe we’ll try it too.’”
UVA has been trying to balance its wealthy student population and perceived Ivy status with the growing AccessUVA program, which awards grants to students whose families earn 200 percent of the poverty line or less and is one of the nation’s most aggressive financial aid programs. Could abolishing early admissions become another way to mitigate these contrasts?
Blackburn could not be reached for comment; his office could not provide data about how many of UVA’s undergraduates applied early decision.
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