Who's Up, Who's Down? ED results

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Perhaps you have seen this little chart located on Jacques Steinberg's Education blogsite, "The Choice" at the NYTimes: Early-Decision</a> Applications Surge at Vanderbilt, George Washington and Dartmouth - NYTimes.com </p>

<p>Although he cautions against using the chart (which supposedly updates every minutes) as a proxy for what schools are hot this year, it is difficult not to be drawn to them, much like the early results of an election. After all, the applicant pools represented here are the richest, ripest, lowest hanging fruit a college can ask for: high school seniors, most of whom are at the top of their class, many of whom can pay full-freight and who've all identified that school as their "first-choice". Many colleges on this list could fill an entire first-year class with just applicants from EDI and II. </p>

<p>Any trends? I think I can spot one or two: schools in big cities are "hot" as are schools perceived to be generous with merit aid (no surprise there.)</p>

<p>American (D.C.) ^7.06%<br>
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Amherst (Mass.) (-5.06%)<br>
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Barnard (N.Y.) ^^38.53%<br>
.
Bates (Me.) ^5.81% (2nd round 1/15/11)<br>
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Boston U. ~0.44%<br>
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Bowdoin (Me.) ^9.78% (2nd round 1/1/11)<br>
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Brandeis (Mass.) ^^12.55% 11/15/2010<br>
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Brown (R.I.) (-3.00%)
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Bucknell (Pa.) ^^30.43%<br>
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Colby (Me.) ^6.14% (2nd round 1/1/11)<br>
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Columbia (N.Y.) ^7.84%<br>
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Connecticut College ^ 2.81% (2nd round 1/1/11)<br>
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Dartmouth (N.H.) ^11.98%<br>
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Davidson (N.C.) ^^39.58% (2nd round 1/2/11)<br>
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DePauw (Ind.) (-10.53%)<br>
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Dickinson (Pa.) ^^15.38% (2nd round 1/15/2011)<br>
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Duke (N.C.) ^^13.70%<br>
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Elon (N.C.) (-14.70%)
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Furman (S.C.) ^^^58.77%<br>
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George Washington (D.C.) ^^18.56% (2nd round 1/10/11)<br>
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Hamilton (N.Y.) ^24.10%<br>
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Haverford (Pa.) ^^14.22%<br>
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Johns Hopkins (Md.) ^^13.77%<br>
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Lafayette (Pa.) ^^^56.32%<br>
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Lehigh (Pa.) ^^14.34% (2nd round 1/1/11)<br>
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Miami (Ohio) ^7.63%<br>
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Middlebury (Vt.) ~0.46% (2nd round 12/31/10)<br>
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N.Y.U. 3,154 3,140 ** **No comparison; 2nd round added this year, 1/1/2011 deadline<br>
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Northwestern (Ill.) ^^25.86%<br>
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U. of Pennsylvania ^^18.33%
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Pomona (Calif.) 236 234 0.85% 11/1/2010 (2nd round 12/28/10)<br>
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Rice (Tex.) ^^14.68%<br>
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U. of Rochester ~0.00%<br>
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Sarah Lawrence (N.Y.) ^^15.07%<br>
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Skidmore (N.Y.) (-3.56%)<br>
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Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) ^^26.29% (2nd round 1/15/11)<br>
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Swarthmore (Pa.) ^5.13% (2nd round 1/1/11)<br>
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Vanderbilt (Tenn.) ^^ 30.76%<br>
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Virginia Tech ~0.48%<br>
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Wake Forest (N.C.) (-11.09%)<br>
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Wesleyan (Conn.) ^3%<br>
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Williams (Mass.) ^1.3%<br>
.</p>

2

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<p>Yes and no. Barnard is up 38.53%, Northwestern is up 25.86%, GW is up 18.56%, Penn is up 18.33%, and Johns Hopkins is up 13.77%. But Columbia is up a more moderate 7.84%, American is up moderately at 7.06%, and BU is basically unchanged (+0.44%). And many of the biggest gainers are NOT in big-city locations, e.g., Furman (+58.77%), Lafayette (+56.32%), Davidson (39.58%), Bucknell (+30.43%), and Hamilton (+24.10). So I’m not sure there’s much of a big city v. small town pattern there.</p>

<p>I’d say the NESCAC schools as a group are showing only modest gains, and in one case posting a loss: Amherst (-5.06%), Bates (+5.81%), Connecticut College (+2.81%), Middlebury (+0.46%), Wesleyan (+3%), Williams (+1.3%). The exceptions are Hamilton (+24.1%) and Bowdoin (+9.78%).</p>

<p>And with some exceptions (e.g., Bowdoin +9.78%; Brandeis +12.55%; Dartmouth +11.98%), New England schools in general are not particularly “hot”—see NESCAC results above, plus BU (+0.44%), Brown (-3%), and Yale SCEA (-0.08%). </p>

<p>In contrast, most Pennsylvania schools are up smartly: Bucknell (+30.43%), Dickinson (+15.38%), Haverford (+14.22%), Lafayette (+56.32%), Lehigh (+14.34), Penn (+18.33%). The Pennsylvania laggard is Swarthmore, up a modest 5.13%.</p>

<p>Many schools south of the Mason-Dixon line are also up strongly: Davidson (+39.58%), Duke (+13.7%), Furman (+58.77%), Rice (+14.68%), Vanderbilt (+30.76%); and I guess technically you’d need to include Johns Hopkins (+13.77%) and GW (+18.56%) in that group. But others in that region are not doing as well, e.g., Elon (-14.7%), Virginia Tech (+0.48%), and Wake Forest (-11.09%).</p>

3

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<p>You have to admit it looks more than coincidental that Hamilton’s ED apps should shoot up the same year it begins its full membership as an all-NESCAC playing member. There’s still some cachet there: [New</a> England Small College Athletic Conference](<a href=“http://www.nescac.com/news/2008-09/Hamilton_041609]New”>http://www.nescac.com/news/2008-09/Hamilton_041609)</p>

4

<p>Don’t forget! Colby is also NESCAC, and is posting a gain of +6.14%, higher than all the rest, with the exception of Bowdoin and Hamilton.</p>

5

<p>Fordham up 9.8 percent in EA. They don’t have ED.</p>

6

<p>a quick glance suggested to me a slight preprofessional focus to the bigger gainers - exception=davidson, eg - I might expct this in today’s economy.</p>

<p>I saw two biggies, bucknell, NU and Lafayette, with big gains , and have ENgineering pgms, eg. upenn similar.</p>

7

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<p>I don’t think “preprofessional” explains the big gains at Barnard, Bowdoin, Davidson, Dickinson, Hamilton, Haverford . . . well, you get the picture. This is an explanation that has far more exceptions than supporting examples.</p>

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<p>Fair enough. But I’d still put Colby’s gains in the “modest” to “moderate” category—better than most NESCAC schools, but far behind the leaders.</p>

<p>My own take on this would be that a lot of applicants have finally figured out that the New England schools are a bit overhyped and overpopular, and that there are plenty of other top schools in other areas—Pennsylvania, the Southeast, the Midwest—that offer comparable quality, but may be just slightly easier to gain admission to. Just a normal market correction.</p>

8

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<p>It depends on how you define “leaders”. Compared to other northeastern prestige schools, NESCAC is within range, if not doing a little better:</p>

<p>Brown (R.I.) - (-3.00%)
Columbia (N.Y.) - ^7.84%
Cornell (N.Y.) - (-3.84%)
Dartmouth (N.H.) - ^11.98%
U. of Pennsylvania - ^18.33%
Yale (Conn.) - ~(-0.08%) (SCEA)</p>

9

<p>Keep in mind that, in many cases, these are very small numbers relative to the total number of applications received by a college. For many of the liberal arts colleges, you may be only looking at a hundred or two ED applications. A change, up or down, of 10% maybe just a handful of applications and totally meaningless except as year-to-year statistical noise.</p>

10

<p>LACs With Highest # of ED Apps - 2010
(in descending order)</p>

<p>Middlebury (Vt.) 657
Richmond (Va.) 579<br>
Bowdoin (Me.) 561
Barnard (N.Y.) 550
Williams (Mass.) 545
Wesleyan (Conn.) 515<br>
Amherst (Mass.) 413
Davidson (N.C.) 402
Hamilton (N.Y.) 376<br>
Bates (Me.) 346
Swarthmore (Pa.) 307
Dickinson (Pa.) 300
Haverford (Pa.) 265<br>
Colorado College 263
Oberlin (Ohio) 261
Connecticut College 256<br>
Claremont McKenna (Calif.) 250
Colby (Me.) 242
Pomona (Calif.) 236
Smith (Mass.) 224<br>
Occidental (Calif.) 128
Scripps (Calif.) 75</p>

11

<p>Furman (805) should be added to the LAC list.</p>

12

<p>LACs With Highest # of ED Apps - 2010
(in descending order)</p>

<p>Furman (S.C.) 805
Middlebury (Vt.) 657
Richmond (Va.) 579
Bowdoin (Me.) 561
Barnard (N.Y.) 550
Williams (Mass.) 545
Wesleyan (Conn.) 515
Amherst (Mass.) 413
Davidson (N.C.) 402
Hamilton (N.Y.) 376
Bates (Me.) 346
Swarthmore (Pa.) 307
Dickinson (Pa.) 300
Haverford (Pa.) 265
Colorado College 263
Oberlin (Ohio) 261
Connecticut College 256
Claremont McKenna (Calif.) 250
Colby (Me.) 242
Pomona (Calif.) 236
Smith (Mass.) 224
Occidental (Calif.) 128
Scripps (Calif.) 75</p>