College Corner

Part one of two parts
The Pressure to Get Ahead




Part one of two parts

The Pressure to Get Ahead


If you’re the parent of a high school senior, you may be facing the Early Decision dilemma this month. For those of you who aren’t yet immersed in the college admission process, a few definitions are in order.


Early Decision means a student applies to one school, usually in November, receives a decision in December, and is obligated to attend if accepted. For a student who’s passionate about one school, applying Early Decision can get the stressful college application process over with and allow him to enjoy his senior year. The risk is that his passion may fade, but he’s made a binding commitment.


Early Action also often has a November deadline, with December notification, but a student has until May to decide whether to accept the college’s offer of admission. This is a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too option, as a student can secure a place early at one college and hold onto it while going through the regular decision process at other schools.


For students who’ve done their research early and identified the schools that meet their needs, these early notification programs can reduce the stress of applying to college.


But if students use the Early Action option to secure acceptances at numerous colleges, the whole admissions timetable will just be moved up. Students will feel more pressure to identify their college choices before senior year. This is one reason some Early Action schools, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, have decided not to allow a student to apply early to other schools. In other words, students can apply to one of these schools Early Action, and then apply to any colleges in the regular decision process.


Why such a big deal about applying a few months early? A recent study suggests that applying Early Decision to a selective college is as advantageous as increasing a student’s SAT scores by 100 points. Early Action seems to have a lesser, but still positive effect on a student’s chance of admission. Counselors and students have long believed that students have a better chance of being accepted if they apply Early Decision. But this new evidence may result in students feeling even more pressure to apply early to a college, any college, without considering whether the school is a good match, so they don’t miss out on the competitive edge.


Colleges have their reasons for favoring Early Decision. Some admissions officers believe that students who are enthusiastic enough about a school to make that commitment will be more involved in campus life and create a stronger community.


A less benevolent reason for giving preference to early candidates is the yield factor. Yield is the number of accepted students who decide to attend the school. Colleges would much rather say 70 percent of students took us up on our offer than 30 percent. Also, if a school accepts more Early Decision students, who they know will matriculate, then they don’t need to accept so many students through the regular admission process and their overall acceptance rates will be lower, making them appear more selective.


Even though U.S. News & World Report has responded to criticism and is no longer using yield as a factor in calculating college rankings, schools aren’t likely to stop caring about yield. It’s more than a matter of pride. Alumni feel better about their college when they know other people really want to go there and happy alumni are more likely to donate money.


Early Decision also gives officials more predictability and control of enrollment levels, so schools are less likely to end up with either empty dorm rooms or students having to triple up in double rooms.


This isn’t to say that admissions officers don’t care about what’s good for students. It’s just that they also care about what’s good for the college. Understanding this basic fact of life in the world of college admission will enable you to help your child make decisions that are in his best interests.


Next installment: Part 2, Should your child apply early?


If you have questions, please send them via e-mail to editor@theacorn.com or to the address on page 4, Attention: College Corner. I’ll answer as many as possible in future columns.


Audrey Kahane, MS, is a college admissions counselor in West Hills. She can be reached at (818) 704-7545 or via the Internet at audreykahane@earthlink.net.





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