<p>From today's Yale Daily News. Here's an excerpt:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Last year Yale admitted 885 of its 4,888 early applicants, and a higher-than-anticipated 80 percent of early admits chose to matriculate, Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel told the News on Monday. While Brenzel released the overall yield for the class of 2012 last spring, the early admissions yield had not previously been disclosed. </p>
<p>While the class of 2012 had an unusually strong early applicant pool, Brenzel said the admissions office will likely not accept as many students early this year from a record pool of between 5,400 and 5,500 early applicants. Brenzel also said he expects fewer students will be deferred during the upcoming college admissions cycle. Half a dozen college guidance counselors interviewed said students would benefit if Yale decreased the number of students admitted through its early program, which they said may advantage some students over others. </p>
<p>We did take more students last year from a record-shattering early pool, and we somewhat underestimated how many would accept our offer, Brenzel said in an e-mail. We were very glad to have these students, but we ended up with somewhat less room in the spring than I would like.
<p>Sounds like the same logic that Princeton gave when they got rid of their ED program. Apparently, everything about applying early advantages the advantaged. I can't understand how that is an issue at all though. What is preventing the so called "disadvantaged" people from applying early to places?</p>
<p>In many cases, you are obligated to attend an early acceptance and you can't compare scholarship/loan offers. And what the school thinks you or your family can afford is often a lot more than you or they can.</p>
<p>Instead of lazily offering an ad hominem attack, maybe you could come up with some convincing points. I'd like to know the answer to his/her question too, particularly in light of Yale's early action policy that gives the applicant the freedom to apply to a more affordable state school in the rolling round as well.</p>
<p>In cases of ED, like Princeton, it's exactly what Granny said--most normal kids have to wait to compare financial aid packages from the schools they get accepted to and can't commit unconditionally.</p>
<p>Even EA offers a really unfair advantage to children of legacies, otherwise well-educated parents, and students who go to schools that have counselors good enough to inform students of EA options. Those are mostly kids who apply EA; I would wager more than 80% of my inner-city school has no idea that schools offer an early acceptance round, and they find out at the college information session in late October, way too late to get together an application. I would bet that the income of students accepted even EA is disproportionately higher than students accepted in the regular round, but that's just a guess. Either way, it's an unfair advantage, IMO, and I think Harvard and Princeton had exactly the right idea in getting rid of it.</p>
<p>I might come off as inflammatory... I believe what I say, but nothing personal...</p>
<p>So, you're suggesting that Yale applicants, who are supposedly among the most intelligent students in the world, don't have the access to the Internet or a $10 U.S. News college guide, or the wherewithal to read those available resources and understand what is going on? How do they know that the regular deadline is January 1st? How do they figure out what the Common Application is? Knowing that there is an early round is a very basic piece of information, and it's pretty unbelievable that a bunch of white liberals don't believe that people of lower incomes can figure things out for themselves. I assure you that my guidance counselor is perfectly useless, and I was able to figure out the college admissions process without much help from my parents.</p>
<p>Or, have I been imbued with a particular oracle-like spirit due to my relatively high income?</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the common sense of what milessmiles says, Harvard terminated its EA program for precisely the reasons southeasttitan gives. They had access to all of their own demographic information, and probably to Yale's as well. Given Yale's and Stanford's decisions not to follow suit, I assume the information wasn't THAT morally compelling, but it was compelling enough for Harvard. (And its then-interim as well as ex-President, Derek Bok, had previously co-written a book with the ex-President of Princeton that in part attacked early admissions programs based on data that they worked to favor applicants from wealthy families.)</p>
<p>On the other hand: Most colleges don't disclose demographic data separately for their early and regular pools. But last year Michael Behnke, then the highest-ranking admissions official at the University of Chicago, said that the average family income of its EA acceptees was actually slightly lower than that of its RD acceptees. (This was in response to the question "Why aren't you following Harvard?") But that was almost certainly attributable to Chicago's entrance into the Questbridge program for placing low-income students, and treating its Questbridge applications as EA applications. So the "regular" EA pool was still probably shaded to the wealthy.</p>
<p>My question is, didn't Yale accept like 90 kids off of the waitlist last year? So are they accepting fewer kids early and more regular, or what?</p>
<p>EDIT: I do appreciate that they plan on deferring fewer kids this year.</p>
<p>The increase in EA applications is not surprising. What was surprising was that their yield was 80% from EA. This means that a high % of accepted students are probably recruited athletes, legacies, or there is sufficient randomness in HYPS admissions that Harvard and Princeton select different students than Yale does. There may not be a large increase in RD apps, simply a shift to EA.
Elimination of EA would be better to prevent the agonizing decisions that students must make. It certainly put a rush on my D's preparation for her application, supplements etc. We had to inform her CC that Yale was requesting submission of the app before NOV 1.</p>
<p>hey....did Yale include QB apps in their count as well? b/c if they count those applications, then the actual number would be like 4000-4500....i sure hope so haha!</p>
<p>I am so praying that they included the QB applicants!!! 5500+ w/ a lowered admit rate is ridiculous. I dont think Yale will eliminate EA anytime soon; they are a part of Questbridge which relies on EA/ED system</p>
<p>Honestly I think I'd rather be rejected than deferred. I think a deferral would just make me play agonizing mind games with myself, and then I'd likely be rejected in the RD round anyway (~95% chance...). At least with a rejection I could try to accept it and move on :(.</p>
<p>So while this whole thing is really depressing, and I'm realizing I have an even tinier shot than before...I'm glad they're reducing the deferral list. Good luck everyone.</p>