<p>The discussions about whether or not to ditch ED/EA continue whether or not the media sees it as a "hot topic" right now. The other week Swarthmore administrators decided "not to be on the bloody edge of change" and took a stand against change for the sake of change. Swarthmore's Jim Bock defends ED because the program is specfically designed to attract those students who find Swat to be their unequivocal first choice. Simply put, ED works well for Swarthmore and will be kept because of the:</p>
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high degree of command in the process it gives admissions. ED gives us more control to shape each class, he said. Although Bock said that the ED applicant pool is more homogenous than the regular decision candidates, he did not regard this as a drawback. Most have the financial, educational and emotional resources to apply early, he said.</p>
<p>Another point that Bock stressed was that although the option of ED is intended to be binding, it is not iron-clad. Its not a legally binding contract, he said. As a result of this policy, Bock said that admissions usually loses one or two students that have applied ED. Theyve all chosen schools that have essentially given them a full ride, he said.</p>
<p>In spite of the concern that the ED process at the college caters exclusively to an applicant pool of a higher socioeconomic level, Bock said that each year he is continually assured of the quality,
depth and diversity of students that apply ED. This last year, more students of color applied than ever before, he said. In addition, he said that the fit exemplified in many successful applicants
Why Swarthmore? essays is evident in almost all of accepted ED students applications. We see it in RD, too, but we see it to a person in ED, he said.</p>
<p>In response to one question concerning ED I, Bock said that admissions would consider abolishing this option if it made sense for the college.</p>
<p>He also said that the college would not consider implementing early action in the near future. Schools end up admitting more students EA than they have room for in their class, he said.
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<p>The "national conversation" about admission reform continues and this latest article reprinted in "The Phoenix" gives a good update on the current state of ED reform.</p>
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It might have seemed like early admissions was toast after the University of Virginia, a public school, followed Harvard and Princeton in abolishing the practice this fall.</p>
<p>But no other school has jumped on the bandwagon in the past month, and some are saying the trend has petered out...</p>
<p>David Hawkins, director of public policy at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said the fact that no school has dropped early admissions in the past month is a good indicator that the trend won't necessarily go that far.</p>
<p>One factor in other schools; hesitation may be the lack of evidence that the move will really abolish barriers for low-income students, he said.</p>
<p>There's just not the feeling that this is really going to solve the access puzzle, he added.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Hawkins said, it is possible that a few more schools will make announcements in the near future but not a landslide of them.</p>
<p>Tony Pals, spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said higher-education experts had initially predicted that few schools would follow Harvard's lead.</p>
<p>I don't think it surprises anyone that no schools have dropped early admissions since the University of Virginia did in late September, he said.</p>
<p>But even if Harvards move has not sparked a domino effect, experts agree that it made a difference by thrusting the issue of admissions fairness into the limelight.</p>
<p>It has breathed life into an issue that was fairly dormant, Hawkins said.</p>
<p>Even if only a handful of institutions follow suit, every institution in the country has taken note of the issue and is asking itself, What can we do to help our lower-income students? Pals said.</p>
<p>The trend of dropping early admissions, no matter its size, is shaping the national conversation, he added.</p>
<p>And not everyone is as pessimistic about the trend's staying power.</p>
<p>Lloyd Thacker, executive director of the admissions-reform advocacy group Education Conservancy, said he expects more schools to change their policies.</p>
<p>I know that serious conversations are going on at schools with which [Penn] competes, Thacker said.</p>
<p>Eliminating early admissions is an opportunity for colleges to demonstrate their educational leadership and to contribute to the educational welfare of the country, he added.</p>
<p>Hawkins said earlier this year that in any event, schools will be less likely to make changes as it gets closer to January, when schools will have to begin creating brochures and filling out surveys for college guides for the next academic year.</p>
<p>Schools making a change for the fall of 2008 will most likely do it by this December, since doing it any later could affect the recruitment process, he added. If a school does not move by the end of this year, it's not likely to do so in the near future, he said.
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