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Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: News
Admissions | Early's out for elite schools, but 'double-dippers' not an issue
Cecily Wu
With Harvard and Princeton holding out until the spring, could a binding early-decision acceptance to Penn be not so binding?
The possibility of early admitted students breaking matriculation agreements is usually fairly marginal, but this year marks the first admissions season in which students will not have the option to apply early to Harvard and Princeton universities.
The two schools announced last fall they were dropping their early-application programs.
And without those top schools on students' early-decision radar, students might be more tempted to get out of a binding agreement with Penn if they are accepted to first-choice Harvard or Princeton during the regular-admissions process.
Still, safeguards against this sort of situation remain in place, and Interim Dean of Admissions Eric Kaplan and several admissions experts say they don't think the absence of those two schools in early admissions will pose a problem.
"Given Penn's popularity and desirability among high-school seniors, we find that students are eager to honor the commitment that they will enroll if they are admitted," Kaplan said.
In early admissions, in which students usually receive a
response in December, schools usually offer one of two options: Early decision, where students are contractually obligated to attend if accepted, and early action, which is non-binding.
Penn has been a staunch supporter of its early-decision program and has had few problems getting students to follow through with their commitments; Kaplan said more than 99 percent of students admitted early matriculated in the past few years.
But the lure of an acceptance from Harvard and Princeton during the spring could entice students to ultimately backtrack, and admissions officials say there are a few instances each year of students trying to switch out of early decision.
At Harvard, director of Undergraduate Admissions Marlyn McGrath-Lewis noted that each year a few students - usually fewer than 10 - who were accepted into another school's early-decision program gain admission to Harvard during its regular-decision process.
In such cases, Harvard, like most other schools, will rescind its acceptances.
Yale University Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel wrote in an e-mail that early-decision violations are rare due to monitoring by high-school counselors.
Sally Rubenstone of admissions Web site collegeconfidential.com explained that some colleges will share lists of accepted students after the early-decision round so other schools can pick out possible "double-dippers," as Rubenstone called it.
Harvard and Penn don't use lists, which are often only compiled by smaller liberal-arts colleges, McGrath-Lewis said.
Still, most schools, including Penn, will allow students to break their early-decision commitment if the financial burden is too high.
That usually only accounts for a few students each year, officials say.
Penn's deadline for early decision was Nov. 1 and expects to release the number of applications received sometime later this month.
The possibility of early admitted students breaking matriculation agreements is usually fairly marginal, but this year marks the first admissions season in which students will not have the option to apply early to Harvard and Princeton universities.
The two schools announced last fall they were dropping their early-application programs.
And without those top schools on students' early-decision radar, students might be more tempted to get out of a binding agreement with Penn if they are accepted to first-choice Harvard or Princeton during the regular-admissions process.
Still, safeguards against this sort of situation remain in place, and Interim Dean of Admissions Eric Kaplan and several admissions experts say they don't think the absence of those two schools in early admissions will pose a problem.
"Given Penn's popularity and desirability among high-school seniors, we find that students are eager to honor the commitment that they will enroll if they are admitted," Kaplan said.
In early admissions, in which students usually receive a
response in December, schools usually offer one of two options: Early decision, where students are contractually obligated to attend if accepted, and early action, which is non-binding.
Penn has been a staunch supporter of its early-decision program and has had few problems getting students to follow through with their commitments; Kaplan said more than 99 percent of students admitted early matriculated in the past few years.
But the lure of an acceptance from Harvard and Princeton during the spring could entice students to ultimately backtrack, and admissions officials say there are a few instances each year of students trying to switch out of early decision.
At Harvard, director of Undergraduate Admissions Marlyn McGrath-Lewis noted that each year a few students - usually fewer than 10 - who were accepted into another school's early-decision program gain admission to Harvard during its regular-decision process.
In such cases, Harvard, like most other schools, will rescind its acceptances.
Yale University Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel wrote in an e-mail that early-decision violations are rare due to monitoring by high-school counselors.
Sally Rubenstone of admissions Web site collegeconfidential.com explained that some colleges will share lists of accepted students after the early-decision round so other schools can pick out possible "double-dippers," as Rubenstone called it.
Harvard and Penn don't use lists, which are often only compiled by smaller liberal-arts colleges, McGrath-Lewis said.
Still, most schools, including Penn, will allow students to break their early-decision commitment if the financial burden is too high.
That usually only accounts for a few students each year, officials say.
Penn's deadline for early decision was Nov. 1 and expects to release the number of applications received sometime later this month.
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The powerful love their privilege
posted 11/09/07 @ 8:44 AM EST
I'm appalled that there isn't a more public outcry against the undeniable injustice of early admissions at Penn. However, considering that so many students at Penn are beneficiaries of this of this practice for the privileged and don't see how there's anything unegalitarian or wrong with the practice, for no reason other than it directly benefits themselves or other members of the upper middle class who doesn't give a shit about giving non privileged students an equal shot at the admissions process. (Continued…)
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