UNC strikes early decision for fall 2003

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has abandoned its early decision admission program. It is the first major selective college to drop the option.

University Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon said UNC's decision to drop its early decision program is not "particularly relevant to Princeton."

"I don't think their admissions situation is analogous to ours," he said in an e-mail. "Their decision seems to me to be as much a matter of prudence as of principle."

Under the UNC plan, prospective students apply early in the fall and receive admission notices by early December. Admitted students are bound to matriculate upon acceptance.

UNC ended early decision, effective fall 2003, because the university felt the program emphasized application tactics instead of selecting the most appropriate college, its chancellor James Moeser said.

"Carolina has taken this step because we believe it will best serve our future students and their families," he said in a statement. "We want to encourage students to approach their educations seriously, not by using strategy, and we hope to contribute to a national climate that encourages thoughtful choice."

Princeton offers applicants an early decision option. About 45 percent of the class of 2006 was filled this year under the program, which is around the same number as previous years. The remaining 55 percent of admitted students, who applied under the regular decision program, were notified at the beginning of this month.

UNC will retain its early action program, under which students apply by mid-November and are notified in late January, and its regular decision program, with applications due in mid-January and admittances mailed by late March.

Many students said they believe applying early to UNC will increase their chances of admission, but Jerome Lucido, UNC's director of admission, said this is untrue.

"Except for this year, we've tended to be tougher on early decision applicants," he said in a statement. "We did not make decisions differently early than we did later. This is in direct opposition to what most students believe about early decision."

UNC had an early decision admission rate of 56 percent in 2001 and a regular admission rate of 68 percent, according to a statement. Eighty-two percent of each of UNC's classes is made up of North Carolinians at the state-funded school.

Lucido also expressed concerns that early decision may favor wealthier students.

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"No matter how responsibly you run an early-decision program, it still tends to be a group of students who are more financially able and less diverse," he said.

Last fall Yale University President Richard Levin called for an end to early decision. But Yale admission officers have said Yale will not act unilaterally but will wait for a consensus among Ivy League schools.

Princeton will also discuss the issue at Ivy League meetings in future months and is currently reviewing its experience with early decision during the past six years, Hargadon said.