Early decision

Last updated

Early decision (ED) or early acceptance is a type of early admission used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the university or college that the candidate considers that institution to be their top choice through a binding commitment to enroll (i.e., if offered admission under an ED program, and the financial aid offered by the school is acceptable, the candidate must enroll at that institution and withdraw all applications to other institutions). Applying early decision brings a greater statistical chance of being accepted.

Contents

Candidates applying early decision typically submit their applications mid-October to early November of their senior year of high school and receive a decision around mid-December. [1] In contrast, students applying regular decision typically must submit their applications by January 1 and receive their admissions decision by April 1. Students can know sooner where they will attend, removing uncertainty and the need for multiple applications and the associated costs.

Typically, a candidate who has applied early decision can receive one of three outcomes in December. They may be admitted (bound to attend the school which admitted them), rejected (they will not be able to attend the school), or deferred (they will be reconsidered for admission with the second round of early decision applications or with the regular decision pool and notified later with their final decision). Generally, when an applicant is deferred, they are released from their binding commitment.

Alternatives

One alternative to early decision is early action (EA). Some institutions offer both early decision or early action, while others only offer one. Early action is non-binding, so a student admitted to a school early action could choose not to enroll in that school. Furthermore, ED programs require applicants to file only one ED application, while, depending on the institution, EA programs may be restrictive or non-restrictive and allow candidates to apply to more than one institution. [2]

Many colleges now offer a second early decision plan: early decision II (ED II). The application typically due in late December to early January and decision in mid-February. [3] Although the application deadline of early January is the same as for regular decision, the early decision II application is a binding commitment, with the benefits and drawbacks to the applicant and the college being similar to early decision I in most respects. The early decision II timeline is designed to allow students to apply to a new "first choice" school after they find out in mid- to late December they have been unsuccessful in their early decision or early action application to their original first choice, or to allow students that did not apply early decision I to apply under an early decision plan. It is intended as another chance for applicants to show commitment, and another tool for the school to protect its admission yield. [4]

History

It was in answer to criticisms of early decision that, starting in 2004, Yale and Stanford switched from early decision to single-choice early action. Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia announced in the Fall of 2006 that they would no longer offer early action or early decision programs, which they claim favor the affluent, and moved to a single deadline instead. [5] [6] The University of Florida followed suit the following year. However, the University of Virginia, followed by both Harvard and Princeton, reinstated their single-choice early action program to promote diversity and provide opportunities for students looking for such an option in 2011. [7] [8]

Binding commitment

Early decision is a binding decision, meaning that students must withdraw applications to other schools if accepted. It is not legally binding, [9] [10] but there is a commitment involved with penalties for withdrawing for spurious reasons. Advisers suggest that this method is only for students who are absolutely certain about wanting to attend a specific school. [11] If financial aid is a concern or if a family is "shopping for the best deal", then it is usually advised to apply early action or regular decision instead. [11] [12] [10] The one stipulated situation under which a student may back out of the agreement is if the financial aid offer is insufficient. [13] [14] [15]

A student who backs out for other reasons may be "blacklisted" by the early decision college, which may contact the student's high school guidance office, [9] and prevent it from sending transcripts to other colleges, and high schools generally comply with such requests. [14] In addition, the jilted college may contact other colleges about the withdrawal, and the other colleges would likely revoke their offers of acceptance as well. [9]

Critics of the program argue that binding an applicant, especially one that is typically seventeen or eighteen years old, to a single institution is unnecessarily restrictive. [16]

Impact on financial aid

When admitted as an early decision applicant, with no other acceptances in hand, a student's bargaining position is weaker because the student cannot compare offers from different colleges. [13] [17] [9] [18] [19] [20] [10] Since the applicant is declaring an intention to attend if accepted, the school can "pinpoint the smallest amount of financial aid it will take for the student to attend." [14] The applicant who is sensitive to financial aid may suffer from the likelihood of the aid amount being less than the expected amount. [21] [22] [17] [15] Several reports confirm that early decision applicants tend to come from wealthier families. [23] [24]

A contrasting view is that by applying earlier in the year, the accepted ED students have "first crack at the money," [12] [14] [23] particularly at competitive schools without large endowments. In any case, if a highly desirable ED admittee may withdraw because of financial concerns, the college "may pull out all the stops" to prevent this, [20] and that the possibility of backing out for financial reasons gives an applicant some form of negotiating leverage. [12] Universities with very large endowments may be unique in their ability to provide aid equally generously to students regardless of their application plan. [25]

Benefits for colleges

Schools which offer early decision benefit from a near certainty that the applicant will attend if admitted. [26] As a result, the admission yield is increased by admitting more students at the ED stage. [4] The timing of the ED process also helps admissions offices spread the work of sifting through applications throughout more of the school year. [27] A number of schools which had EA plans have recently added ED plans to EA (Chicago and Tulane from Class of 2021 on, Virginia from Class of 2024 [28] ), or have switched to ED and jettisoned EA (Boston College from Class of 2024 on [29] ).

Some college counselors speculate that ED can serve to mitigate the problem of students failing to matriculate to a particular school in favor of a "superior" one.[ citation needed ] For example, one college might only admit a candidate deemed qualified for another, 'superior' college under ED, for in regular decision, should that student be admitted to the 'superior' competitor, that student would be unlikely to attend the college that originally offered the ED admission.[ citation needed ][ clarification needed ]

Admit rates and enrollment statistics

Applying early decision brings a greater statistical chance of being accepted, [30] [12] [31] [32] [33] [34] [10] possibly doubling or tripling the chances of an acceptance letter. [35] This is usually attributed to three factors: first, candidates who apply "early" can only present colleges with their transcripts until the end of junior year of high school and therefore must be particularly strong applicants with very persuasive transcripts;[ citation needed ] second, candidates who apply "early" have dedicated themselves to an institution and are more likely to match the institution's admission standards; third, student athletes sometimes apply "early" to their top choice school to demonstrate their commitment to a college varsity coach who, in turn, can push their applications in the admissions process. Some advisors suggest that early decision is the best choice for students who have clearly settled on one particular college. [16]

In 2009, the average early acceptance rate according to one estimate was 15% greater than regular decision applicants. [18] There is less agreement, however, whether it will help a borderline student win acceptance to a competitive college. Early decision candidates tend to have stronger educational credentials than regular decision candidates, [25] [34] [23] and as a result, these candidates would have been admitted whether they applied by early or regular methods, and therefore the greater statistical likelihood of acceptance may have been explained by membership in the stronger applicant pool. [25] But the commitment of an early decision application demonstrated by a borderline student can still be beneficial; "colleges really want qualified students who want them" and are more likely to offer acceptances to students ready to make a full commitment. [12]

Most institutions include data on the number of ED applicants and ED admits in their annual Common Data Set (a few institutions do not release a Common Data Set at all), and trends for an individual institution can be readily complied. At the most competitive schools, the number of ED applicants has increased at a more rapid pace than regular decision applicants. Although the ED admit rate has declined at these schools in recent years, the absolute number of ED admits has managed to increase while the absolute number of regular decision admits has fallen rapidly and all the admit rates have also fallen.

A few schools have seen ED applicants more than double in the 2012–2019 period, including Rice (2,628 ED apps in 2019–20 [36] compared to 1,230 ED apps in 2012–13), Emory, NYU (13,842 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20; [37] 5,778 in 2012–13), and Boston University (4,700 ED I and ED II apps in 2019–20; [38] 1,069 in 2012–13). The number of ED admits has also doubled at NYU and Boston University over this period, and although the increase of ED admits at other schools has been less dramatic, that increase has nonetheless reduced the number of RD admits meaningfully because half the class or more is now being filled by ED admits. At WUSTL and NYU, about 60% of the class is now taken up at the ED stage. [39] [40]

In recent years, there has been a marked trend in the number of ED applicants, and in the proportion of the class being admitted via the ED process. [38] As of 2019–20, almost every highly selective college (where admission rates are below 25%) admits more students through ED than it did a decade ago, but among them, there has been a remarkable shift in the admission strategy of a few schools resulting in as much as 60% of the class being selected from the ED pool compared to 30–35% only a few years ago. [39]

A similar trend exists across the most competitive liberal arts colleges in early decision application and admission numbers, with over 50% of the class being filled at these schools from ED admits compared to only about 44% in 2012–13. Notably, the absolute number of ED admits has increased, even though the number of RD admits, the RD admit rate, the ED admit rate and the overall admit rate have all gone down.

Admission statistics for early decision [lower-alpha 1] at US research universities with admit rate averaging <25% in Fall 2019–2022
16 universities: [lower-alpha 2] Columbia, [lower-alpha 3] Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, WUSTL, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, NYU, Boston University (data from Common Data Set or school publications)[ citation needed ]
Freshman
Year
ED Apps
(a)
ED Admits
(b)
ED Admit
Rate (b/a)
Total
Enrollment (c)
Enrollment
filled by
ED Admits (b/c)
Total Apps
(d)
Total Admits
(e)
Overall Admit
Rate (e/d)
RD Apps [lower-alpha 4]
(d-a)
RD Admits
(e-b)
RD Admit
Rate [lower-alpha 5]
(e-b)/(d-a)
2012–1338,84011,47129.5%32,37335.4%438,45590,97820.7%399,61579,50719.9%
2013–1441,66811,96528.7%32,24637.1%461,80589,14919.3%420,13777,18418.4%
2014–1544,53512,88728.9%33,32538.7%489,51890,15318.4%444,98377,26617.4%
2015–1648,10413,28127.6%33,15040.1%506,42189,42817.7%458,97876,36316.6%
2016–1751,46614,00327.2%33,54641.7%527,23988,12916.7%476,49074,37315.6%
2017–1855,12814,80026.8%33,70243.9%545,25684,01515.4%490,85769,47114.2%
2018–1962,59816,32826.1%33,84348.2%595,71177,47613.0%533,48261,28711.5%
2019–2071,77616,78723.4%32,89951.0%624,08972,26611.6%552,56755,56610.1%
2020–2172,10817,68124.5%33,49552.8%608,12781,02513.3%536,01963,34411.8%
2021–2290,19318,96321.0%36,01352.7%775,01574,4689.6%684,82355,5058.1%
2022–2394,33518.84120.0%34,21555.1%802,98869,0708.6%708,65350,2297.1%
Admission statistics for early decision [lower-alpha 1] at US liberal arts colleges with admit rate averaging <25% in Fall 2019–2022
23 liberal arts colleges: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, [lower-alpha 6] Amherst, Williams, Barnard, Harvey Mudd, Colorado College, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colgate, Vassar, Haverford, Carleton, Davidson, Wellesley, Washington & Lee, Grinnell (data from Common Data Set or school publications)[ citation needed ]
Freshman
Year
ED Apps
(a)
ED Admits
(b)
ED Admit
Rate (b/a)
Total
Enrollment (c)
Enrollment
filled by
ED Admits (b/c)
Total Apps
(d)
Total Admits
(e)
Overall Admit
Rate (e/d)
RD Apps
(d-a)
RD Admits
(e-b)
RD Admit
Rate
(e-b)/(d-a)
2012–1313,0184,98838.3%11,27544.2%137,86429,51721.4%124,84624,52919.6%
2013–1413,9085,17537.2%11,29945.8%141,24628,82020.4%127,33823,64518.6%
2014–1514,2145,11736.0%11,38744.9%143,62529,34620.4%129,41124,22918.7%
2015–1615,2335,35535.2%11,49346.6%153,96429,85319.4%138,73124,49817.7%
2016–1715,1005,62237.2%11,46749.0%157,98829,18818.5%142,88823,56616.5%
2017–1816,2475,85036.0%11,54050.7%166,96729,16817.5%150,72023,31815.5%
2018–1917,4965,97234.1%11,80850.6%184,06629,58516.1%166,57023,61314.2%
2019–2018,1466,05833.4%11,64152.0%195,74028,61314.6%177,59422,55512.7%
2020–2117,9836,21734.6%11,00656.5%188,27130,66016.3%170,28824,44314.4%
2021–2219,1386,59234.4%12,82251.4%226,24929,88813.2%207,11123,29611.2%
2022–2320,3986,61232.4%12,18454.3%243,03128,28411.6%222,63321,6729.7%

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Numbers include both ED I and ED II when a school offers more than one ED plan.
  2. Schools which changed admission strategies in the 2012–2020 period have not been included: Northeastern, Tulane, Chicago, all of which currently use a combination of EA and ED but did not use ED in the earlier part of this period. Other selective schools with admit rates below 22% have versions of EA plans but currently no ED option: MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, Notre Dame. USC has neither ED nor EA admission plans.
  3. Columbia has not released ED admits from 2017–18 but it has released the number of ED applicants each year. An estimate of 700 ED admits is assumed for each year from 2017–18.
  4. Since ED applicants may be deferred, the pool from which RD admits are selected is larger than the RD applicant pool when these deferred applicants are included. Consequently, the RD Admit Rate is slightly below the figures presented in this table.
  5. Since ED applicants may be deferred, the pool from which RD admits are selected is larger than the RD applicant pool when these deferred applicants are included. Consequently, the RD Admit Rate is slightly below the figures presented in this table.
  6. Colby has not yet released the 2017–18 and 2018–2019 common data sets, and the 2016–17 figures are used as estimates for those years.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivy League</span> Athletic conference of eight elite American universities

The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference, comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term Ivy League is typically used outside sports to refer to the eight schools as a group of elite colleges with connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism. Its members are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. The conference headquarters are in Princeton, New Jersey.

Olin College of Engineering, officially Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is a private college focused on engineering and located in Needham, Massachusetts. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its relatively recent founding, small size, project-based curriculum, and large endowment funded primarily by the defunct F. W. Olin Foundation. The college covers half of each admitted student's tuition through the Olin Scholarship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Small College Athletic Conference</span> American collegiate athletic conference

The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCAS</span> England-based private limited company for university application processing

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a charity and private limited company based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, which provides educational support services. Incorporated on 27 July 1993, the company's main role is to operate the application process for British universities and colleges. The company is funded by fees charged to applicants and universities as well as advertising income; it was formed by the merger of the former university admissions system Universities Central Council on Admissions and the former polytechnics admissions system Polytechnics Central Admissions System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JUPAS</span> Hong Kong degree application system

The Joint University Programmes Admissions System, or commonly known as JUPAS (聯招), designed by Dr Gregory Chan Hin Fai, is a unified system for applying for full-time undergraduate programmes in Hong Kong. In 2017 admission, all government funded degrees and sub-degrees provided by University Grants Committee (UGC) member institutions, and most of other full-time degrees provided by institutions in Hong Kong are under the application system in JUPAS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Program in Liberal Medical Education</span>

The Program in Liberal Medical Education, or PLME, is an eight-year combined baccalaureate-M.D. medical program offered by Brown University. Members of the program are simultaneously accepted into both the undergraduate College of Brown University as well as the Warren Alpert Medical School, allowing them to receive a Bachelor's degree and an M.D. as part of a single eight-year continuum. The PLME is the only combined medical program in the Ivy League, as well as one of only approximately 120 in the nation. The program is highly selective, admitting fewer than 90 applicants nationwide and internationally each year, with an acceptance rate of 2.19% for the class of 2026. The PLME is widely considered to be one of the most competitive and prestigious combined medical programs in the country.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.

Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the pursuit of post-secondary education. Financial aid is available from federal and state governments, educational institutions, and private organizations. It can be awarded in the form of grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. In order to apply for federal financial aid, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legacy preferences</span> Preference given to applicants related to alumni

Legacy preference or legacy admission is a preference given by an institution or organization to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. It is most controversial in college admissions, where students so admitted are referred to as legacies or legacy students. The practice is particularly widespread in the college admissions in the United States; almost three-quarters of research universities and nearly all liberal arts colleges grant legacy preferences in admissions.

Pre-medical is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med coursework, volunteer activities, clinical experience, research, and the application process. Some pre-med programs providing broad preparation are referred to as “pre-professional” and may simultaneously prepare students for entry into a variety of first professional degree or graduate school programs that require similar prerequisites.

Early action (EA) is a type of early admission process offered by some institutions for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, EA usually requires students to submit an application by mid-October or early November of their senior year of high school instead of January 1. Students are notified of the school's decision by early January instead of mid-March or May 1.

Need-blind admission in the United States refers to a college admission policy that does not take into account an applicant's financial status when deciding whether to accept them. This approach typically results in a higher percentage of accepted students who require financial assistance and requires the institution to have a substantial endowment or other funding sources to support the policy. Institutions that participated in an antitrust exemption granted by Congress were required by law to be need-blind until September 30, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College admissions in the United States</span> Aspect of education

College admissions in the United States refers to the process of applying for entrance to institutions of higher education for undergraduate study at one of the nation's colleges or universities. For those who intend to attend college immediately after high school, the college search usually begins in the eleventh grade with most activity taking place during the twelfth grade. Applications to many schools are due in October or November of senior year for Early Decision or Early Action, or in December or January of their senior year for Regular Decision, though the timeline may vary depending on the universities, some having an earlier deadline due to the fact that the admissions process may weigh in more on transcripts. Students at top high schools may often begin the process during their tenth grade or earlier. There are considerable numbers of students who transfer from one college to another, as well as adults older than high school age who apply to college.

Rolling admission is a policy used by many colleges to admit freshmen to undergraduate programs. Many law schools in the United States also have rolling admissions policies. Under rolling admission, candidates are invited to submit their applications to the university anytime within a large window. The window is usually over six months long, and some schools do not have a previously specified end date. The university will then review the application and notify the applicant of their decision within a few weeks from submission.

The Leonard N. Stern School of Business is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. Founded as the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance in 1900, the school received its current name in 1988.

Medical school in the United States is a graduate program with the purpose of educating physicians in the undifferentiated field of medicine. Such schools provide a major part of the medical education in the United States. Most medical schools in the US confer upon graduates a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, while some confer a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Most schools follow a similar pattern of education, with two years of classroom and laboratory based education, followed by two years of clinical rotations in a teaching hospital where students see patients in a variety of specialties. After completion, graduates must complete a residency before becoming licensed to practice medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transfer admissions in the United States</span> Aspect of education

Transfer admissions in the United States refers to college students changing universities during their college years. While estimates of transfer activity vary considerably, the consensus view is that it is substantial and increasing, although media coverage of student transfers is generally less than coverage of the high school to college transition.

Development cases are a set of preferences in university and college admission, particularly in college admissions in the United States, separate from merit, athletic, racial and legacy preferences, whereby applicants from wealthy families are more likely to be granted admission to selective universities based on large donations made by family.

The FAFSA position is a historical term in college admissions in the United States that referred to the position where a prospective college appeared on an applicant's FAFSA form. FAFSA permits an applicant to list up to ten colleges on the form, and the entire list was historically sent to each college. As a result, admissions officers could see which other colleges a student is applying to and the order in which the colleges were listed.

References

  1. Hernandez, Michele A. (2009). A is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges. Grand Central Publishing. p. 33. ISBN   978-0-446-54067-4.
  2. The Facts About Applying Early: Is It Right For You?
  3. Moon, Kristen. "Early Decision II Colleges: The Complete List. Forbes, Dec 13, 2018". Forbes . Retrieved Aug 29, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Hoover, Eric (26 October 2015). "E.D. II: The Not-So-Early Decision". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  5. NPR: Harvard Ending Early Admissions Process
  6. Princeton: Princeton to end early admissions
  7. "Princeton to reinstate early admission program".
  8. "Early action returns". 24 February 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Ask the Experts: Early Decision and Early Application". Peterson's College Search. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Erica L. Green, April 10, 2018, Justice Department Launches Probe of College Early Admissions, 'The New York Times, Retrieved April 11, 2018
  11. 1 2 "Early Decision – Financial Aid". The Princeton Review. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Robert J. Massa (December 13, 2010). "The Case for Early Decision". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Grace Wong (December 12, 2005). "Early decision action plan: Your child has been accepted to the college of their dreams – but are you sure you can afford it?". CNN/Money. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Annamaria Andriotis (November 10, 2009). "Do Early Decision Students Get More Aid?". SmartMoney. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Lynn O'Shaughnessy (September 8, 2011). "Early Decision: 10 Things You Need To Know About Applying". CBS News. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  16. 1 2 Diana Hanson; Esther Walling; Craig Meister; Kristen Tabun (November 16, 2011). "Which College Admissions Deadline Should You Choose?". US News. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  17. 1 2 Kim Clark (December 27, 2010). "6 Kinds of Students Shouldn't Apply to College Early: Late bloomers and those who need financial aid benefit from regular applications". US News. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  18. 1 2 Kim Clark (December 15, 2010). "Early Applicants More Likely to Gain College Admission: Higher admission rate of early college applicants fuels controversy". US News. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  19. "The Financial Aid Effect on Early Decision and Early Application". Peterson's College Search. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  20. 1 2 "How Early Decision Can Affect Financial Aid". CollegeMadeSimple.com. July 7, 2012. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  21. Scott Jaschik (February 25, 2011). "Elite universities surrender to early admissions". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  22. Gail MarksJarvis (September 20, 2010). "Applying to college? 'Early decision' could cost more". Chicago Tribune: Business. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 Sarah Winkler (July 7, 2012). "How Early Decision Affects Financial Aid". HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  24. Frank Bruni, December 21, 2016, The New York Times, The Plague of 'Early Decision', Retrieved December 21, 2016, "...It significantly disadvantages students from low-income and middle-income families, who are ..."
  25. 1 2 3 Mark Kantrowitz (April 11, 2009). "Guidance Office: Answers About Financial Aid, Part 6". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  26. "Recruitment and Yield Strategies" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  27. Nicholas Thompson (September 2000). "Playing With Numbers: How U.S. News mismeasures higher education and what we can do about it". Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013. ... U.S. News rankings don't measure how much students learn; ...
  28. "UVA Adds Early Decision Option". 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-22. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  29. "Boston College to Launch Early Decision Program". Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  30. Diana Hanson; Esther Walling; Craig Meister; Kristen Tabun (November 16, 2011). "Which College Admissions Deadline Should You Choose?". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  31. Peter Van Buskirk (September 19, 2011). "The College Admissions Insider: Decide if an Early Decision College Application is the Right Choice". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  32. "Financial Aid and Early Decision". College Confidential. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  33. Christopher Avery; Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser (2004). The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN   0-674-01620-3.
  34. 1 2 Margaret Loftus (September 12, 2011). "Know if Applying to College Early is Right for You: Getting in could be easier, but a search for financial aid might suffer". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  35. Steve Cohen (September 23, 2011). "Top 10 myths of college admissions". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  36. "Acceptance rate hits record low 8.7 percent". ricethresher.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved Sep 21, 2019.
  37. "Applications to NYU Exceed 84,000". nyu.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved Sep 21, 2019.
  38. 1 2 "Early Decision Applications to BU Surge, Matching National Trend". bu.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  39. 1 2 "Washington University in St. Louis sees 70 percent increase in applications". Archived from the original on 2019-09-21. Retrieved Sep 20, 2019.
  40. "NYU Common Data Set 2018–19" (PDF). nyu.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved Sep 21, 2019.