Since 2001, Brown applicants have had the to apply to the University via early decision 鈥� a binding admissions practice with a deadline months before regular decision applications. On Wednesday, the latest cohort of hopeful Brunonians submitted their binding applications. But this policy鈥檚 future is currently under deliberation at the University and across the country.
In September, President Christina Paxson P鈥�19 P鈥橫D鈥�20 convened the Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions Policies to examine, among other policies, 鈥渨hether or not there鈥檚 something that is better suited to our mission鈥� than early decisions, Provost Francis Doyle told The Herald at the time.
In the wake of the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to limit race-conscious college admissions, many higher education institutions have strived to find alternatives to sustain diverse student bodies.
Citing racial and class inequities that may be exacerbated by early decision admissions, some have their binding November and December deadlines both now and in years past. But some proponents argue that early decision may provide benefits to both applicants themselves and the institutions that offer it.
Why do colleges offer early decision?
鈥淎dmissions is a song and dance of yield,鈥� said Tamy-Fee Meneide, director of college counseling at Solomon Admissions Consulting, an independent college counseling firm. 鈥淯niversities need to fill the seats, but they want to make sure that the students they鈥檙e saying yes to are going to say yes back.鈥�
Since early decision indicates a commitment from applicants, universities 鈥渓ock in鈥� a large percentage of their incoming class ahead of the May 1 enrollment deadline, making for high yield rates, according to Cathleen Sheils, former director of undergraduate admission at Cornell and senior associate director of college counseling at Solomon Admissions Consulting.
That share has in recent years: For the University鈥檚 , 879 of the total 2,609 applicants admitted were offered early decision admission. In the class of 2023, that number at 769.
At Brown, the policy was implemented in 2001 in part to of admission officers overburdened by high numbers of early action applications.
Sheils noted that students also benefit from early decision practices. An early decision application demonstrates commitment and passion for a specific institution.
鈥淚t gives a student an option to hands down say to a school, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e my top school,鈥欌�� Sheils said. 鈥溾�榊ou鈥檙e the school I鈥檓 most interested in, and you鈥檙e the school that鈥檚 my best fit.鈥欌��
Students may also apply early decision due to higher acceptance rates, Sheils said.
At Brown, the class of 2027 saw an early decision acceptance rate of 13% 鈥� more than three times higher than the 3.8% acceptance rate for regular decision applicants.
Inequity in early decision
While acceptance rates are higher for early decision, 鈥渨ealthy and white students are the ones most likely to take advantage of the program,鈥� Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Kahlenberg, an advocate for class-based affirmative action over race-based affirmative action, was also an expert witness in by Students for Fair Admissions 鈥� the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that outlawed affirmative action.
In a fall poll of first-year students, The Herald found demographic differences between respondents who applied early and those who did not. Early applicants were more likely to receive no financial aid, hold legacy status, have higher levels of parental education, have attended private high schools and be recruited athletes. Non-first-generation respondents were also two times more likely to apply early compared to first-generation students.
Applicants with access to college counselors also apply early at higher rates, as they are explicitly advised to take advantage of applying early, Kahlenberg wrote.
Of respondents to The Herald鈥檚 first-year poll who worked with a college counselor, 63% applied early decision, in comparison to 51% in the group that did not have a college counselor.
Many early decision applicants hail 鈥渇rom well-resourced families or well-resourced schools,鈥� said Judi Robinovitz, founder and co-owner of the test-preparation and academic advising company Score at the Top.
鈥淚t is a tremendous disadvantage for kids who go to under-resourced high schools,鈥� Robinovitz said. Counselors at under-resourced high schools may have limited time and large student caseloads, making it 鈥渕uch harder to get information about (non-local) colleges.鈥�
Kahlenberg also highlighted how students who are bound by an early decision acceptance have less flexibility to compare financial aid offers from other universities. Wealthier students in early decision admissions 鈥渄o not have to worry about comparing financial aid offers from different universities,鈥� he wrote.
Herald poll data and have corroborated these socioeconomic discrepancies.
But, according to Meneide, because some colleges meet 100% of applicants鈥� demonstrated financial need, many students don鈥檛 have to be concerned with affordability when applying early, she said.
At Brown, admitted students are guaranteed to have 100% of their demonstrated financial need met by grants.
Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of admission, deferred offering any comment until after the work of the Ad Hoc Committee is completed, which is expected by the start of next semester, The Herald previously reported.
He previously told The Herald that the University鈥檚 financial aid program has allowed the Office of Undergraduate Admission 鈥渢o attract a remarkably diverse and talented applicant pool.鈥�
Still, students and families financial uncertainty as a barrier to applying early.
What comes next?
Brown isn鈥檛 the first university to look closely at early admissions. Virginia Tech is the most recent institution to early decision, citing concerns about equity. In 2006, , and the all eliminated early application programs, all citing concerns about economic equity.
The Harvard admission team hoped that their decision would 鈥渃ause other universities to follow and thus do away with (early action) altogether,鈥� then-interim Harvard President Derek Bok wrote in an email to The Herald. But few did, he added.
As a result, many students chose to apply to and attend other schools that offered early admissions programs instead of Harvard, the reported at the time. Both Harvard and reinstated their early admissions policies in 2011, and the followed in 2019.
If Brown were to eliminate early decision alongside other Ivy institutions, Robinovitz said, 鈥測ou鈥檙e leveling the playing field. If you鈥檙e the only one to eliminate it, it would hurt.鈥�
Instead of eliminating early decision, Meneide said she believes that higher education institutions should look to address underlying issues of inequity in secondary schools. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of creating a culture that does not point blame, but instead wonders how we can collaborate because the structure is broken,鈥� Meneide said.
Robinovitz said that she鈥檚 seen an increase in pro-bono work done by education consultants to reach high school students earlier in the application process. She also called on colleges and universities to increase their outreach efforts to fill about early decision.
Kahlenberg called Brown鈥檚 Ad Hoc Committee 鈥渁n opportunity to do many of the things that should have been implemented long ago 鈥� jettisoning unfair preferences for the wealthy and giving a meaningful break to economically disadvantaged students of all races.鈥�
The Committee鈥檚 work is 鈥渋s actively underway,鈥� University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
According to Clark, the committee plans to make 鈥渄ata-informed recommendations鈥� to ensure that the University鈥檚 admission practices 鈥渁lign with Brown鈥檚 stated commitments to excellence, access and diversity.鈥�
Owen Dahlkamp is a Section Editor overseeing coverage for University News and Science & Research. Hailing from San Diego, CA, he is concentrating in political science and cognitive neuroscience with an interest in data analytics. In his free time, you can find him making spreadsheets at Dave鈥檚 Coffee.
Julianna Chang is a University News Editor who oversees the academics and advising and student government beats. A sophomore from the Bay Area, Julianna is studying Biology and Political Science on the pre-medical track. When she's not in class or in the office, she can be found eating some type of noodle soup and devouring bad books.
