LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD?
According to admissions experts, the reinstatement of early admissions programs at both Harvard and Princeton will fundamentally alter the dynamics of college admissions.
“This is a seismic shift,” said Michael Goran, director and educational consultant at IvySelect, a college counseling firm in California. “I really do believe that it creates a new dynamic.”
The four institutions that many consider the nation’s preeminent universities—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford—now all offer non-binding single-choice early action programs. According to college counselors, students hoping to attend one of these schools are now likely to apply early to their first choice and attend if admitted, rather than apply to more schools and make up their minds in May.
“I think it will be the most earth-shattering for Yale,” said Sack, saying that in the past five years, students often applied early to Yale even if Harvard or Princeton was their first choice. Next year, Sack hypothesized, Yale’s early applications will decrease as those students migrate to Harvard and Princeton.
Experts said that Harvard stands to directly benefit from the new policy and will likely see a higher yield in the future.
“You’re not committed to the school, but at the end of the day, chances are you have already psychologically committed by applying early action in the first place,” Goran said, arguing that Harvard can now draw top students through its early action program.
Others were skeptical of the College’s claim that the reinstated early program will be equally accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. Cigus Vanni, a guidance counselor at Cherry Hill High School in New Jersey, said that early admission has traditionally been used to guarantee admission to athletes, legacies, and the children of donors as quickly as possible. Predicting that this trend will start again with the rebirth of Harvard’s early action program, Vanni said that having these candidates in the pool may boost the early admission rate, causing acceptance during the early cycle to appear deceptively easy.
Current applicants to the College interviewed by The Crimson yesterday reported that they would have applied early to Harvard had the option been available.
—Gautam S. Kumar contributed reporting to this story.
—Staff writer Justin C. Worland can be reached at jworland@college.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Julie M. Zauzmer can be reached at jzauzmer@college.harvard.edu.