<p>"The most drastic difference in representation between the two pools is in minority matriculants; 19 percent of matriculants from the early decision pool are racial minorities, whereas 40 percent of those accepted in the regular pool are considered minorities.</p>
<p>Thirty-eight percent of matriculants admitted to the Class of 2010 through early decision are receiving need-based financial aid, compared to 57 percent of regular decision matriculants.</p>
<p>The Dartmouth also gets its hands on similar numbers for the University of Virginia, and finds that only 2 percent of students admitted early applied for financial aid. Two percent! Both Dartmouth and UVA had binding, early decision last year, but UVA just dropped its program. Dartmouth's outgoing gatekeeper, Karl Furstenberg, says they're staying the course for now."</p>
<p>Dartmouth's ED policy is just one data point in the pool. The story here isn't about Dartmouth per se -- it's about Early Decision in general. I believe the ED pool at any school will be more affluent and less diverse than the RD pool.</p>
<p>The Dartmouth financial aid office apparently only released information on ED matriculants. It would also be interesting to see statistics on ED applicants. I suspect they would follow the same pattern. Well-informed students who need to take financial aid into account when choosing colleges -- and that includes most URMs -- know better than to apply by binding ED.</p>
<p>I read in the Journal of Blacks and Higher Education that when it comes to black students, ED applicants nationally are rejected at higher rates, and I believe the hypothesis is that they are weaker applicants than are the black students who apply RD. That would make sense to me. </p>
<p>Usually only the more affluent black students apply ED. Such students also would be informed enough to know that they would not need an ED tip because very qualified black students are in relatively short supply. Consequently, those who apply ED probably are affluent and weaker applicants who are hoping that ED will boost them in.</p>
<p>My suggestion is for all schools to have an Early Action Financial Aid (EAFA) Admission window, PRIOR to normal Early Action/Early Decision, followed then by a Regular Decision period. Limit the students to only 2 EAFA applications. Let the schools have first crack at who they want to throw money at.....if all schools did this group FIRST....all HS counselors would be able to get the word out early and often to all HS students and/or families that the first round is where the money is doled out......and be ready to stake your spot at a school somewhere in the country. Because it would be an "Early Action" Financial Aid (EAFA) it would not be binding...but it would take the pressure off of getting chosen last and needing money. </p>
<p>I also think limiting students to only 1 Early Action normal OR only 1 ED normal for everyone....and unlimited RD for everyone.....would help throttle back the launching of all the apps...and increase the liklihood of acceptances... just because of fewer volumes. </p>
<p>I appreciate your highlighting, Marian, of the article actually only showing numbers for matriculants. That is a very key delineation.</p>
<p>What's there to expose? It's only confirming what Harvard and Princeton say about early admissions/decision programs: they "advantage the advantaged". Matriculants are those who attend, not those who apply.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no reason to go out of one's way to accept a student ED if one is pretty sure they (or someone just as desirable) is going to be there in the RD round anyway. By accepting substantial number of full-pay students ED, it actually opens the door for the college to figure out exactly how many financial aid applicants to accept in the RD round without breaking the budget, and to fill in the need for defensive ends or hockey goalies not already filled in the ED round.</p>
<p>If you were Dartmouth, would you do it any other way? I know I wouldn't.</p>
<p>Another wrinkle to Dartmouth is that with its relatively small size - compared to Harvard - and the number of athletes that it has to recruit for its competitive teams which are in predominantly "white" sports, I'm not surprised that there is a bigger disparity in the URM percentages than Harvard has. Dartmouth is competitve in hockey, womens' lacrosse, coed sailing, skiing, figure skating, and track (?cross country? I think). Certainly minorities play those sports, but I'd bet money that except for track, they are very predominantly white. </p>
<p>I don't pretend to know how recruiting works at Dart, but if they even ran some of those athletes through ED, it would skew the numbers because they are smaller overall than say Harvard. I do know that the 2 young men from my city who were recruited for football, knew between ED date and mid-Feb, but I don't know exactly when they committed (uniform signing day, maybe), and one of them is an URM.</p>
<p>What amazed me about the Dart article was the figure quoted for UVa, although when you think about it, that 2% maybe somewhat misleading. If the ED pool is 99% in-state at UVa, then their tuition should be less, therefore the numbers paying full freight should be higher than at a private school. BUT, 98% full freight is incredibly high. Great for UVa's planning for FA, as Mini points out.</p>
<p>Northstarmom,
I'm curious, do you think highly qualified, affluent urm's are better off applying RD? I would think that colleges would be pursuing these kids whether it was ED or RD since they're in relatively short supply. I would also think that these kids would be savvy enough (like their non urm counterparts) to realize that there can be an advantage in applying early even if they don't "need it."</p>
<p>
[quote]
I would also think that these kids would be savvy enough (like their non urm counterparts) to realize that there can be an advantage in applying early even if they don't "need it."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Most highly qualified URMs will be hooked candidates (although not shoo-ins as there are URMS who are rejected every year from elite schools along with their non-urm counterparts) no matter when they apply so applying RD does given them the chance to compare packages, run the numbers etc (remember applying ED you are stating that if admitted you will attend regardless of the package offered). I know in my house we needed the ability to compare packages so D applied RD.</p>
<p>I know amongst my D's friends who are URMs that applied ED, they were either legacies or athletes where they were usings their hooks during ED same as their non-urm counterparts. </p>
<p>However the one friend that she does know who fell in neither category applied ED, was deferred to the RD round when she was eventually admitted the number of blacks in any admitted class over the past few years that I have been watching tem has consisted been between 75 and 79 students in a class of 1075). I also know from reading the board over a number of years that there have been some highly qualified URMs who have applied ED/EA and as Northstarmom stated were either rejected or deferred. </p>
<p>I think that the article is in line with Dartmouth's admissions policies where about 33 to 35 % of the class is admitted ED and the rest admitted RD Keep in mind the 19% admitted during ED are commited to attending. Out of the 40% minorities admitted during RD, about half of those will attend giving the school their yeild of having a class that consists of 38% minorities (this includes non URMs like asians which are still counted as a minority- just not an underrepresented one).</p>
<p>"I'm curious, do you think highly qualified, affluent urm's are better off applying RD?"</p>
<p>Yes, so they can compare financial aid packages, which can vary a great deal, particularly when an applicant is in a highly sought after category.</p>
<p>Of course, if the parents are extremely wealthy, the finances wouldn't matter, but most URMs aren't so lucky as to come from such affluent families.</p>
<p>Northstarmom,
I guess I was assuming that the affluent urm's would be affluent enough that financial aid would not be an issue. Yes, I realize that there are few in this category.
If money is not an issue, it still seems there is an advantage in applying early, (especially EA which still gives the option to change your mind) urm or not</p>