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The Ivy Coach College Admissions Blog

Early Decision Advantage

January 17, 2013

One of the things we like to do on our college admissions blog is to point out popular misconceptions and inaccuracies relating to the highly stressful admissions process. In an article in “The Dartmouth,” America’s oldest college newspaper, in which our Founder, Bev Taylor, is featured, there is a belief asserted by a high school director of college counseling that is not correct. The high school director of college counseling is certainly not alone in having this misconception but it’s important that we clear the air for our readers. So what’d he say that we disagree with?

Early Decision Benefits, Benefit of Early Decision, Advantage of Early Decision, Apply Early Decision

Early Decision applicants to many colleges have advantages over their Regular Decision counterparts.

According to “The Dartmouth” article on admissions figures, “The only early decision schools that have not seen a decrease in their applicant pools are schools that either provide a ‘significant selectivity discount’ for those who apply during the early round or have specific programs that draw a narrow applicant pool, [Mr. Durso-Finley] said. Examples of schools with ‘selectivity discounts’ are Duke University and Vanderbilt University, where admissions counselors advertise that applicants are advantaged by applying early decision. Schools with specialty programs include the University of Pennsylvania, with Wharton Business School, and Cornell University, with its school of engineering, he said. Durso-Finley said he does not believe that Dartmouth’s early decision program provides students with greater chances of admission if they apply early.” Furthermore, “The Dartmouth” quotes him as saying, “Psychologically, applying to a binding program to a school that offers the exact same chance early and regular simply does not make sense anymore.”

Mr. Durso-Finley, we kindly ask you to look at the numbers. Check out our compiled Ivy League Statistics. There is an Early Decision advantage in applying at Dartmouth as well as at a host of schools not mentioned to have a ‘selectivity discount.’ Last year at Brown, as an example, the overall acceptance rate was 9.6%. The acceptance rate for Early applicants stood at 19%. At Columbia, it was 7.4% overall and 20.4% for Early applicants. At Dartmouth, it was 9.4% overall and 25.8% for Early Decision applicants. 9.4% is not the same as 25.8%. The numbers are great indicators. There is a distinct advantage to applying Early Decision vs. applying Regular Decision to a school like Dartmouth. Or Brown. Or Columbia. Or most schools that have an Early Decision option. We don’t know where you learned that this wasn’t the case but hopefully you see the figures and realize the difference in odds. Legacies and recruited athletes are two examples of groups who also have a distinct advantage in the Early round of admission.

Categories: Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Ivy League Early Decision

January 16, 2013
Ivy League Statistics, Ivy League Admission Stats, Early Decision Statistics

We’ve got the Ivy League Early Decision and Early Action statistics for the Class of 2017.

For Ivy League Early Decision and Early Action applicants, we’ve got the numbers on how this year’s Early applications (for the Class of 2017) compare to last year’s Early applications (for the Class of 2016). At Brown University, applications surged 3%. In the Ivy League, a lower admission rate is usually tied with increased applications since the schools admit more or less the same amount of students every year. At Columbia University, 1.3% more applicants applied. At Cornell University, 14% more applicants submitted applications (the second largest improvement in the Ivy League). At Dartmouth, 12.5% fewer applicants applied.

Harvard saw the biggest surge in applications from year to year with 14.9% more applicants applying this year as compared to last year. At the University of Pennsylvania, this same figure stood at 6%. At Princeton University, the figure stood at 11%. And Yale University was up 4.4% for the Class of 2017 applicant pool when compared to the Class of 2016 applicant pool. So the overall winners this year for best admissions marketing were Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton.

Why do you think Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton saw such increases in applications this year? Why the difference in just one year? Let us know your thoughts on the matter by posting below. And be sure to check out our compiled Ivy League Statistics, the best source of Ivy League admissions statistics on the web.

Categories: Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: 1

Princeton Early Action Admissions

December 26, 2012
Princeton Early Action Admission, Early Action Admission to Princeton, Princeton Early Action, Single Choice Early Action to Princeton

Princeton University extended their Early deadline this year longer than any other Ivy League school.

With the Princeton Early Action admissions rate dropping by 3% after seeing a 10.7% increase in applications this year, some may wonder if the improved numbers are a result of the university extending their deadline. When  Hurricane Sandy hit, many universities extended their Early Action / Early Decision deadlines for those impacted by the natural disaster. Princeton University chose to extend their deadline, in fact, further out than any other Ivy League school. And their extension didn’t just apply to those directly impacted by Sandy. It was for everyone and nobody had to explain why their Early Action application was late.

And why wouldn’t Princeton extend their deadline? By extending their deadline, Princeton could play with their numbers (which impact their “US News & World Report” ranking) and increase their number of applications. The more students that apply to Princeton via their Single Choice Early Action program, the lower their acceptance rate will invariably be. It’s simple math that didn’t require the expertise of Princeton’s John Nash to help sort out.

Do you think Princeton extended their deadline so long to increase their applicant pool for Single Choice Early Action? Do you think they just thought it was the right thing to do? If so, why do you think they extended the deadline for students not impacted by Hurricane Sandy as well? Let us know your thoughts on the matter by posting below!

And congratulations to Kimberly on your admission to Princeton!

Categories: Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Harvard Admissions Decisions

December 19, 2012
Harvard Early Decision, Harvard Admissions Decision, Harvard University Admissions Decisions

Harvard released its Early decisions in waves this December.

Back in the day, students were able to conjecture whether or not they were admitted to a university by observing the thinness or thickness of the decision envelope. Their conjecture was often accurate as universities that admitted students included additional information about the university in the hope of swaying them to attend (rather than choosing another school). And student denied admission didn’t need such supplemental material. It was that simple. The rumor that the thick envelope was good and the thin one wasn’t was a true one. But most students don’t find out by snail mail anymore. They find out online.

So are there tricks to knowing if you’re going to get in anymore without the aid of thick and thin envelopes? Sometimes there certainly are! For instance, when the Harvard admissions decisions went out for their Early pool recently, if you happened to have been monitoring “College Confidential,” you’ll have noticed that the decisions went out in waves. Just check the message boards. You’ll see a bunch of “deferred,” “deferred,” “deferred” as students announced their admissions decisions from Harvard. And then a bit later, students started getting “admitted,” “admitted,” “admitted.”

The difference in timing is no coincidence we assure you. Schools are known to send out their admissions decisions in waves and Harvard University is no exception. Have you had a similar experience with a university you applied to? Tell us your stories by posting below! We want to hear them.

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Harvard Early Action

December 17, 2012
Harvard Early Action Stats, Stats for Harvard Early Action, Harvard University Early Action

The Harvard Early Action figures are out for the year.

The Harvard Early Action numbers are in. For the Class of 2017, 895 students were admitted to Harvard University via Early Action. Last year, only 774 were admitted, marking an increase of 16%. As you may remember, Harvard’s Early Action pool increased this year by 14.7% as compared to last year, the first year that Early Action was back after four years of being on hiatus. You can read more about the spin Harvard (and Princeton) put on re-instituting Single-Choice Early Action Policies for the Class of 2016 by checking out this post on the Princeton and Harvard Early Action PR.

And what’s the breakdown like for the students admitted via Early Action to Harvard for the Class of 2017? According to “Harvard News,” “‘We continue to make progress in attracting outstanding minority students in our early program,’ said Marlyn E. McGrath, director of admissions. ‘The number of admitted Asian-Americans increased from 170 to 194, African-Americans from 74 to 78, and Native Americans from nine to 14, while the number of Hispanic-Americans declined slightly from 76 to 70, and Native Hawaiian from four to two,’ she said.”

If you were deferred from Harvard this year after applying Early Action, it’s always good to check out the number of deferred students they admitted last year to see where you stand. Last year, Harvard admitted a little over 100 students through Regular Decision who had been deferred through Early Action. So the odds aren’t great, but it is indeed possible should the numbers hold for this year as well (as we expect they will).

Have questions for us on Early Action admission to Harvard? Send them our way and we’ll be sure to answer!

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Stanford Early Action Statistics

December 16, 2012
Stanford Admission Stats, Stanford University Admission Stats, Stanford Early Action Admission Stats

725 students earned admission to Stanford this year via its Restrictive Early Action program.

The Stanford Early Action statistics are in for the Class of 2017. Under Stanford’s Restrictive Early Action program, 725 students have earned admission to The Farm (as compared to 755 from the Early pool last year). In all, 6,103 students applied to Stanford via Early Action. This marked the largest Early pool in the university’s history. These admitted students hail from 28 nations and 43 states. What, they couldn’t find someone in South Dakota? According to Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Richard Shaw as reported by “Stanford News,” “More than 70 percent have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or higher and have demonstrated excellence in fields ranging from fine arts, writing and the humanities to engineering and science.”

Students who applied Early Action to Stanford learned of their admissions decisions on Friday through email. These students can still apply to colleges through Regular Decision (unlike Early Decision policies at other universities). And all students have until May 1st to take Stanford up on their offer of admission. Says Shaw as reported by “Stanford News,” “‘We have admitted an extraordinary and highly accomplished group of students, selected from an early pool of exceptional depth…We are honored to have reviewed all the outstanding young people who expressed an interest in Stanford.’”

Did you apply Early Action to Stanford this year? Are you considering applying Early to Stanford next year? Have questions for us? Pose your questions by posting a comment and we’ll answer them! And check out the Stanford Early Action stats from last year.

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action  Tags: , , , ,
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Duke Early Decision Admissions

December 13, 2012
Early Decision Duke Admissions, Early Decision to Duke, Duke Early Decision Statistics

Duke Early Decision applicants will be notified of decisions today.

Duke Early Decision admissions data is out. This year, 2,540 students applied Early Decision to Duke University. Of those 2,540 applicants, 753 students will find out today that they’ve earned admission to the school in Durham, North Carolina. As compared to last year, Duke received 70 fewer applications. However, this year, 106 more applicants will earn admission in the Early Decision round. These 753 students who have all committed to attending Duke will ultimately comprise approximately 44% of the incoming Class of 2017.

According to “The Duke Chronicle,” “‘We always approach Early Decision curious to see what the applicant pool will be like and without a preconceived notion of how many students we will be able accept,’ Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag said in a Duke news release. ‘Some years—such as last year—we end up admitting the same number as the year before. This year there were considerably more students whose applications were compelling, and we appreciate the interest of those exceptional students who know Duke is their clear first choice.’”

And how many of those students who applied Early Decision but did not earn admission were deferred? 607 applicants are being deferred to the Regular Decision pool. Of this batch, typically about 10% end up getting in via Regular Decision. According to “The Duke Chronicle,” “North Carolina, New York, California, Florida and New Jersey are the most highly represented states. North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Colorado and Maryland saw the largest increases in acceptances.”

If you applied Early Decision to Duke University this year, we wish you good luck today!

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action  Tags: , , , ,
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Penn Early Decision Admit Rate

December 10, 2012
Penn ED Admit Rate, Penn Admissions Rate, Penn Early Admissions Rate, UPenn Early Admission Rate

The Penn Early Decision admit rate is down by less than a percent this year.

The Penn Early Decision admit rate has improved this year by less than one percent. With an admit rate of 24.9%, it’s down from 25.4% last year. Approximately 1,000 applicants during the Early Decision round were deferred to the Regular Decision round. According to “The Daily Pennsylvanian,” “Each of the 4,812 early decision applicants — the highest total in the University’s history — committed to attending Penn if admitted. The 1,196 students who are accepted Wednesday will make up just under half of the target class of 2,420, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said.

As our Founder, Bev Taylor, states in the article, Penn is a school that heavily favors Early Decision applicants. Just think about it. They’ve already filled 49% of the class after the Early Decision round is over. So all of the thousands of Regular Decision applicants are competing to fill only 51% of the class. In all, 4,812 candidates applied Early Decision to Penn. Of those applicants, 1,196 earned admission. 1,000 were deferred. And 2,616 were denied admission. That makes for a 54% rejection rate and a 21% deferral rate.

What do you think of Penn’s Early Decision admit rate this year? Do you think it’ll drop further next year? Is it a surprise to you to learn that Penn values its Early candidates more than just about any other highly selective college in the nation? Let us know your thoughts by posting below! And check out this post on Penn Early Decision Figures.

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Dartmouth Early Decision Admit Rate

December 9, 2012
Dartmouth Early Admit Rate, Dartmouth ED Admit Rate, Admit Rate to Dartmouth, Dartmouth College Admit Rate

The Dartmouth Early Decision admit rate wasn’t quite as competitive as last year’s rate.

The Dartmouth Early Decision admit rate isn’t as competitive as last year due to the 12.5% decrease in the applicant pool. This year, 464 students were admitted via Early Decision. That figure stood at 465 last year for the Early Decision pool.  For this year’s Early Decision pool, 1,574 students submitted applications to the College on the Hill. That number is compared to 1,800 last year. There are some, according to “The Dartmouth,” who speculate that media attention to hazing at Dartmouth (there was that “Rolling Stone” article a few months back by a disgruntled dropout) led to the decline in Early applications. But it’ll take some data mining to fully understand the 12.5% drop.

According to “The Dartmouth,” “[Dean of Admissions] [Maria] Laskaris said she would not speculate about the decline in the early decision applicant pool without conducting polls of students who decided to apply to colleges other than Dartmouth. She said the reasons for the decline will become evident when the admission cycle for the Class of 2017 is completed. ‘Once we complete the cycle, we will have a chance to do some follow-up and understand our year in a broader context,’ Laskaris said.”

The admitted Early Decision candidates will comprise about 40% of the total class. Of the admitted Early Decision candidates, according to “The Dartmouth,” about 30% are athletic recruits, a rate that has reportedly remained stable over the last few years. The average SAT scores for this year’s Early admits? 2141. Last year’s? 2146. And 2144 the year before that. So with the decline in applicants, the mean SAT score went down as well. So not exactly the greatest Early admissions cycle for Dartmouth, but we have a feeling they’ll bounce back next year.

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
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Williams Early Decision

December 6, 2012
Williams College Early Decision, Early Decision at Williams, Williams Admissions

Williams College has seen a decrease in international applications the last couple of years.

Williams Early Decision admission data is out. Williams received 584 Early Decision applications for the Class of 2017. Typically, Early Decision admits make up about 40% of the incoming class at Williams. According to “The Williams Record,” “‘Early indications are that this is a very strong pool of applicants, which will make competition especially keen,’ Director of Admission Dick Nesbitt ’74 said.” Have you ever read a dean of admissions say they secured a particularly weak group of applicants? We didn’t think so. Just wanted to point that out!

“The Williams Record” article on the Early Decision data at Williams also points out a noticeable trend — the decrease of Early Decision applications from international students. For the Class of 2017, 59 international students submitted applications. This number stood at 75 for the Class of 2016. And for the Class of 2015, that number stood at 90. So that marks a trend. We’d be curious to know if Williams has changed its marketing in nations outside of the United States.

And what about diversity at Williams? According to “The Williams Record,” “ED applications from students of color have been steadily increasing over the past three years, according to Nesbitt. This year, 106 ED applicants were students of color, a small increase from last year’s total of 100 ED applicants of color and a significant jump from 85 ED applicants of color for the Class of 2015.” Anyhow, Williams College will release its Early Decision results on December 13th so be sure to hover over their browser on that day if you applied Early to the school.

Categories: College Admissions, Early Decision / Early Action  Tags: , , , ,
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