Since its inception, Early Decision has become such a prominent feature of college admissions that many colleges fill up to half their first-year class or more through Early Decision applications. There is much controversy surrounding its impact on students and families because Early Decision tends to advantage affluent students who attend top secondary schools. This blog post explores who stands to benefit from Early Decision and how it affects the constituent groups of students, families, high schools, and colleges.
Historical Background
In the early centuries of college admissions, say from 1636 through the 1950s, all students applied through a Regular Admissions process, in which the deadline typically was January 1, and students received notification decisions by mid-April. But that all changed in the 1950s when a group of five smaller colleges that dubbed themselves the “Pentagonals” – Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Wesleyan, and Williams – decided to offer a binding Early Decision option in order to secure top students before they applied to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
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As Early Decision became an increasingly popular option—and admissions became increasingly competitive—students felt greater pressure to apply early in order to maximize their chances of admission. In 2004, Yale and Stanford switched from ED to Single Choice Early Action (SCEA), also known as Restrictive Early Action, to decrease the stress on students. The non-binding option, they argued, would alleviate the additional pressure students face in having to commit before they’re fully ready.
Objections to early admissions, however, soon took on an additional dimension. In 2006, Harvard, Princeton, and UVA made the bold move to no longer offer any kind of early admissions program because of research suggesting that such programs disadvantage students from lower socioeconomic groups for a variety of reasons. These families typically need to compare financial aid offers from more than one college; in addition, often students in under-resourced high schools are not made aware of early admissions options, resulting in them missing out on the opportunity altogether.
Harvard, Princeton, and UVA hoped to serve as role models and expected that other colleges would follow suit. While other colleges, such as Stanford, publicly supported their new policy, no colleges followed. This strategically disadvantaged Harvard, Princeton, and UVA, since other colleges could now grab top students through binding early programs. Within several years, all three resumed an early admissions program, with Harvard and Princeton offering SCEA and UVA offering EA and, starting in 2019, ED as well.
In fact, more and more colleges are now offering binding ED plans. In 2016, University of Chicago, Haverford, Wake Forest, and Wellesley added ED plans, and Tulane replaced its SCEA with ED. In 2019, Boston College replaced its EA program with ED. Very few of the most selective private colleges in the country now offer a non-binding early admissions option; these few include Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.
Impact of Early Decisions on Regular Decisions
Many colleges are now filling at least 40% or more of their incoming first-year class through Early Decision. This leaves significantly fewer spots for the vastly greater numbers of students who apply through Regular Decision.
For example, at Brown, 898 ED applicants (out of 6,244 applications) were accepted for the Class of 2028, filling about 52% of Brown’s incoming first-year class. That means that the significantly larger regular pool (over 42,000 applications) had to compete for the remaining spots. This year, 906 ED applicants (out of 5,048 applications) were accepted for the Class of 2029. Since Brown reinstated a standardized test-score requirement this application cycle, they received a little over 1,000 fewer applications than last year’s Early Decision pool, a 19% drop, and their lowest number of ED applicants in five years. It has not been reported yet if Brown received fewer regular decision applications as well.
Tulane paints an even more shocking picture of the impact of early admissions on regular admissions. For the Class of 2027, Tulane admitted a total of 4,077 students, including only 270 admits through Regular Decision as a result of its heavy reliance on early admissions. 1,193 of 1,752 Early Decision applicants were accepted and another 2,614 students were admitted through Early Action. For the Class of 2029, Tulane admitted 800 out of 1,400 EDI applicants, a 57% EDI acceptance rate.
See the chart below for the percentage of the first-year class filled through ED for a select group of colleges.
The discrepancy between the numbers of applicants and the review time for ED versus RD can affect the quality of review of an applicant’s file in the RD round. On the one hand, admissions officers have about twice as much time to review applications in the Regular Round, as they typically have three months for RD applications (from January 1 through April 1) versus 1½ months for ED applications (from November 1 through December 15). But if the admissions staff receive a whopping 7x as many RD applications, as in Brown’s case last year, the review process will be much more compressed, and students who have a unique story to tell may not receive the same quality of consideration.
Who Benefits from Early Decision?
Students
- Students from affluent families who do not need to compare financial aid packages.
- Strong academic students who have sufficiently compelling GPAs by the end of junior year and test scores by October of senior year, and who do not need further testing or 1st semester senior year grades to bolster their candidacy.
- Students from top high schools with sufficient resources to provide individualized guidance for students about the benefits of Early Decision.
- Students from educated parents who are familiar with Early Decision options.
- Students who have private test prep tutors who advise them to take standardized tests during junior year so that they will have scores in time to submit for early deadlines.
High Schools
- Top high schools that have the resources to inform students of ED opportunities.
- When their students take advantage of Early Decision at selective colleges, they are admitted at higher rates, which boosts the high school’s appeal to prospective families.
Colleges
- Colleges who value students’ demonstrated interest. ED is often used by small- to medium-sized colleges who want to build a tight-knit community of students who are especially loyal to the school.
- Colleges have more control over crafting their class since ED is binding; they can then use Regular Decision to round out the class.
How Do Students Benefit from Early Decision?
- Higher acceptance rate. Simply put, students are more likely to be accepted. Typically, the acceptance rate is higher for students who apply through a restrictive early program, such as ED or SCEA, because the applicants are demonstrating a strong degree of interest in attending the college.
- A more relaxed senior year. Students typically know where they will be attending by December 15. This eliminates the stress of waiting to find out where they have been accepted, enables them to have a relaxed second semester, and provides them more time to plan for the start of college.
- Access to merit scholarships. Many merit scholarships are open only to students who apply by fall deadlines.
How Do High Schools Benefit from Early Decision?
- Higher admit rate for the students who apply ED.
- Stronger appeal to prospective families. High schools publicize their college acceptance and matriculation outcomes. Successful outcomes make the school district more desirable for families who value education, thereby increasing property values and attracting new residents.
How Do Colleges Benefit from Early Decision?
- More loyal students. The accepted students are clearly devoted and loyal to the college; they will be strong spokespeople for the school, and their positive feelings will affect other students.
- More alumni donations. As alums, they will likely donate more money because the college was a top choice and accepted them in the early round.
- Higher yield. The college’s “yield” (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend) will increase, which increases predictability in calculating the first-year enrollment.
- Higher rankings. With increased yield, the college’s ranking in US News & World Report (and other collegiate ranking lists) is likely to increase.
Who is Disadvantaged by Early Decision?
Students
- Families who need to compare financial aid packages.
- Students from large public high schools with over-burdened guidance counselors who do not have the resources to educate students about the benefits of Early Decision.
- First-generation students whose parents may not speak English, may not be as actively involved in the high school, and/or may not be as aware of all the admissions options.
- Under-resourced students who do not have the financial support for private test preparation and/or are not knowledgeable about the timeline required to obtain scores in time for early deadlines.
High Schools
- Under-resourced high schools whose students do not take advantage of ED options and have a lower chance of acceptance through RD.
Colleges
- Colleges who philosophically oppose ED, including a number of Catholic colleges, may consequently lose out on top students who would rather have the certainty of an ED acceptance.
Solutions
According to the Center for American Progress, “Early Decision policies at colleges and universities favor wealthy families and create additional barriers for marginalized communities.”
The issue may be most effectively addressed by individuals and organizations that provide outreach and guidance to lower-income students. Some colleges are also doing their part to make the system more equitable by seeking top-quality students from diverse backgrounds through a variety of programs, including American Talent Initiative, QuestBridge, the KIPP Foundation, and A Better Chance. The situation may also have improved unexpectedly due to the pandemic and the adoption of test-optional admissions policies.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that race can no longer be considered as a factor in college admissions, essentially ending the practice of Affirmative Action in higher education. This ruling does not, however, prevent students from discussing their race or other diverse aspects of their identities in their essays or elsewhere in their applications, and many schools – who believe diversity benefits all students – will continue to consider this information in the holistic examination of students’ applications.
The college admissions process can be overwhelming, and it may seem difficult to know where to start. At Collegiate Gateway, we are eager to share our expertise and guide you on the path to your “best fit” college. Please feel free to contact us! As always, we’re happy to help!
