<p>"Given the current economic downturn, admissions officers at Wesleyan University thought there might be a decline in early-decision applications this year. But when the deadline passed last weekend, they found that the number had risen 40 percent..." How bad can it be out there?</p>
<p>Economically, the rationale of Wesleyan admissions officers makes no sense. During a recession, there is a lower opportunity cost to education, and therefore applications go up. The fact that Wesleyan's ED apps went up by 40% during a recession is a bad sign for the economy, not a good one.</p>
<p>There is a wonderful thread in the Parents Forum which has been tracking the ED news from many schools across the country. I don't know how to past that thread title - but if anyone else knows how to link that thread to this, it would be great. Wesleyan is but one of many seeing a surge in ED applications.</p>
<p>This is the link to the other discussion:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/597475-early-decision-applications-up-despite-financial-meltdown.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/597475-early-decision-applications-up-despite-financial-meltdown.html</a></p>
<p>I don't agree with the opportunity cost rationale. People don't usually forego going to Wesleyan in order to enter the work force during good times. You may be thinking of the high school drop-out rate.</p>
<p>Befor the deadline,there was report that the applicants to universities this year would raise to a new acme.Thus gave applicants a fear of lower chance. Everyone knows ED stands a higher opportunity than RD. So no wonder the applications for ED abound.There is nothing to do with economy declining.</p>
<p>"CesareBorgia," opportunity cost is relevant with post-undergrad education. Business school apps are up huge because there are no jobs - the opportunity cost of an education is far less for GRADUATE school. However, undergraduates (especially Wesleyan candidates) are not concerned about entering the workforce out of high school. For ED applicants at top tier schools (assuming ED equates to little financial aid need), they're more concerned about getting into their top choice (Wesleyan) than making the decision to go into the workforce or not.
That article means two things: Wesleyan is on the rise in a big way, and fewer applicants are focusing on financial aid than were thought.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is also NEED-BLIND.
Maybe that's got something to do with it. MAYBE.</p>
<p>I agree with them that they think this is weird because their rational is that when a student is locked into a specific school they might not be able to accept the better financial aid package from another school. This logic would easily result in a decrease in ED applicants. However, other factors are obviously at work here that the colleges did not consider.</p>
<p>i think it is because people just want to have security when all is is so unsure right now. And with virtually all top schools given out grants and very generous aid packages....the comparing isnt as big of a deal....most places give u the same aid unless you get a scholorship</p>
<p>I thought there were a million more students with the graduating class of 2009 - the end of the baby boomers babies. Perhaps that is why applications are up.</p>
<p>So if ED applications are generally up everywhere, will schools admit a higher percentage of those applicants thinking that the number and quality of RD applications will be lower after so many ED students have already committed to their first choice? Or, is the pool so big this year that RD applications will also go up?</p>
<p>This article seems to ignore the fact that if you can demonstrate that the financial aid package you are given is truly inadequate, then you can choose not to enroll in favor of a more generous offering. This whole thing makes me nervous, because I applied early decision to a real reach school (Amherst), and I was hoping doing so would give me a slight advantage, but now it seems like it was taken away. I just think that some people now aren't serious about the early decision, they're just being more rash because of the times. Maybe I'm just being crazy, but either way, my decision to commit to my first choice school has been cheapened by this sharp increase.</p>