By David Stoll, PremierbrPlatinum tutor and college admissions counselor at The Princeton Review
Another year brings the perennial concern that it is harderbrthan ever to gain admission to a selective college. Stanford, for example,bradmitted just 5.07% of its 42,167 applicants this year, the lowest in thebrUniversity's history. However, as inbrprior years, this trend should be viewed in a larger perspective—one thatbrsuggests that applying early remains an important part of the admissionbrprocess. Moreover, students in the high school Class of 2017 should plan ahead whenbrit comes to standardized testing.
The Stanford story is instructive. Under its Early Action (EA)brprogram, 748 students—nearly 11% of early applicants and more than one-third ofbrall acceptances—were offered early admission. Thus, the acceptance rate forbrRegular Decision barely topped 3%. Similarly, Yale admitted 15.57% of its EAbrapplicants, compared with 6.26% of all applicants; Princeton 18.53% EA,brcompared with 7.28% overall; and Harvard 21.14% EA, compared with 5.9% overall.brOutside of the Ivy League, The University of Chicago admitted 12.12% of its EAbrapplicants, compared with 8.4% of all applicants.
The Early Decision (ED) story is even more interesting.brApplying Early Decision involves a binding promise to attend the school ifbraccepted. The University of Pennsylvania offered admission to 25.5% of its ED applicants,brwho fill more than half the class, as opposed to 9.9% overall. Duke, too,braccepted over 25% of its ED applicants, nearly half the entering class, asbropposed to 10.7% of all applicants. Northwestern accepted a whopping 32.31% ofbrED applicants, while its overall accept rate dropped to a low of 12.9%.
What do these numbers mean? Applying Early Decision is wisebrfor a competitive student who has a clear first choice and for whom financialbraid is not an issue. For such a student, the odds of acceptance are higher,brbecause the student is showing an interest, the school will accept a higherbrpercentage of applicants, and there will be fewer slots available for thosebrapplying regular decision. On the other hand, someone uncertain about attendingbra school should not apply Early Decision as a means of gaming the system;brattending a best-fit school is well worth the wait.
Applying Early Action is also wise, and financial aid needbrnot be a consideration yet. While chances of admission are not quite as high atbran Early Action school as at an equivalently selective Early Decision school,brthe odds for a competitive student are still better than they would be in thebrspring. Do note that some Early Action schools, including Harvard, Princeton,brand Yale, will not permit early applicants to apply early to other private schools.brThus, it may be better to apply to other schools early to allow for morebrpossible options.
What does this mean with respect to the Redesigned SAT? Thebrnew test is expected to launch in spring 2016. For those who find the ACT to bebra better fit, the SAT changes are not particularly relevant as every schoolbrwill accept either ACT or SAT. The best way to find out whether a student isbrmore suited to ACT or SAT is to take a full-length practice of each. For those inbrthe Class of 2017 who may rely on SAT scores, it may make sense to take thebrcurrent SAT in 2015 and the new SAT in 2016 and rely on the better performance.brThus, 2015-16 juniors should begin their (current) SAT prep early and take thebrtest in fall 2015. They can then update their prep in the spring and try thebrnew SAT.
About The Princeton Review
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