<p>In this article, Robert Bardwell, a school counselor, president of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, and adjunct professor for the school counseling program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Springfield College reminds us that "colleges with early admission programs constitute only 15 percent to 20 percent of all post-secondary schools in the country". </p>
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Early admission programs have been around for decades. When first created, they were meant to give seniors who knew which college they wanted to attend a chance to hear early whether they would get in or not, eliminating the need to have to wait until the spring to hear. They were applying to their first-choice school.</p>
<p>Early decision is a binding contract, meaning that if a student is accepted under that plan, then they must withdraw applications from all other schools. Early action still allows a student to apply early and get an answer early, but does not bind the student to attend. Students can apply to multiple early action schools, whereas only one early decision application is allowed.</p>
<p>So what's the problem, and did these schools get rid of a good thing? Not everyone feels that early is necessarily good.</p>
<p>Opponents argue that when schools accept more than 30 percent of their classes through the early program and only 10 to 20 percent through the regular admission deadline, it is inherently unfair.</p>
<p>Furthermore, students who are disadvantaged in some way socioeconomically, first-generation college-bound or geographically) are less likely to apply early and thus not be equally represented among the early acceptances.</p>
<p>One report from the University of Virginia indicates that of the 947 members of the Class of 2010 who were accepted early, fewer than 20 applied for financial aid. Therefore, early programs are good for those who are already advantaged and simply perpetuate the cycle.</p>
<p>In addition, students applying early are not necessarily choosing that option for the right reasons. In many cases, they are just not ready to make such a commitment, especially for the binding option.</p>
<p>A lot can happen between late October and January, making a binding commitment a bad thing. Furthermore, society places a great deal of pressure on students to apply early somewhere. If applying early is the culture of a particular school, then students will go along with it even if it is not the right thing for them.</p>
<p>Parents are also to blame for this trend. In order to keep up with the Joneses, students are often forced to apply early even if they are not exactly sure where they might want to apply...</p>
<p>Early programs aren't all bad. In many cases, students apply to a school having thoroughly investigated and visited a college, making it clearly their first choice for the right reasons.</p>
<p>Not all colleges accept excessive numbers of students early. At Smith College, for example, only 24 percent of its freshman class this year was accepted early. Smith can also boast that 22 percent are first-generation, 30 percent are students of color, and 25 percent are Pell Grant recipients, meaning that the federal government has determined they are eligible for the most financial aid possible. These statistics clearly show that Smith is very conscious of the admissions decisions it makes and attempts to provide access fairly and equitably. Not all colleges and universities fall into this category.</p>
<p>It is also important to note that colleges with early admission programs constitute only 15 percent to 20 percent of all post-secondary schools in the country, so while the ones who have early programs get a great deal of the attention, the vast majority of schools have no such program and therefore have a single deadline. Unfortunately, the majority of the schools with early programs are also the more prestigious colleges so they tend to overshadow the others.</p>
<p>Whether additional schools will end their early admission programs remains to be seen. The fact that some have examined their policies and made changes, whatever the reason, shows that they are trying to be conscious of the reasons why they do what they do.</p>
<p>Students of all backgrounds and financial abilities should have equal access to college regardless of which admissions decision program a college adheres to. However, we need to do a better job eliminating barriers to post-secondary education for all of our students
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