The College received 904 applications for its early decision program this year, a decrease of 6.7 percent from last year’s 969 applications, Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus said.
p. Despite fewer applications for the Class of 2011, Broaddus described the level of early decision applicants this year as “consistent” with previous years.
p. Broaddus said that the College plans to accept about 310 applicants through early decision, an acceptance rate of 34 percent. Despite a perception among some high school seniors that applying early decision provides a significant admissions advantage, the College’s overall acceptance rate was 32 percent for the Class of 2010, only two points lower than the projected early decision acceptance rate for the Class of 2011.
p. If these numbers hold, 23 percent of the Class of 2011 would enter the College through early decision. Broaddus wrote in The Daily Press in October that 33 percent of the Class of 2010 was accepted through early decision.
p. Broaddus denied that there is a difference in admissions standards between the early decision and regular decision pools, saying that applying early decision only provides a slight “tip factor.”
p. Broaddus defended the College’s early decision program despite recent announcements from Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Virginia that they would drop their early admission program beginning next year.
p. He said that the cause for the shift away from early decision at some top-tier colleges was that low income families tend not to use the early decision program because they are more likely to want to compare financial aid packages between schools. Broaddus agreed that the early decision program is not right for all families, but that it is a good program for high school seniors who are certain that the College is their first choice.
p. “Used responsibly, early decision continues to be a good tool,” Broaddus said. “Early decision works well for the right kind of student.”