Early action replaces early decision at Yale

Yale University threw a wrench into the college admissions game yesterday, announcing it will let students admitted under its early admission program apply to other schools.

Yale officials said replacing its binding early decision program with a non-binding early action program, starting with the class of 2008, would allow students to take a slower, more thoughtful approach to selecting a college.

The program asks students to apply by Nov. 1 and responds with a decision by mid-December.

Yale's switch to early action comes during a nationwide dialogue on whether early programs enhance or detract from the application process.

All other Ivy League universities, except Harvard, have early decision policies.

Admission Dean Fred Hargadon said yesterday that Yale's decision would not affect Princeton's program.

Princeton officials have repeatedly affirmed their commitment to early decision, arguing that it does a good job of matching students with the right colleges.

If Princeton ever considers a change, it will not be until Hargadon retires in June and a new admission dean arrives on campus, President Tilghman said last month to The Daily Princetonian.

The early admission brouhaha began last winter, when Yale President Richard Levin questioned the value of binding early programs.

"Early decision programs help colleges more than applicants," Levin said yesterday. "It is our hope to take pressure off students in the early cycle and restore a measure of reasoned choice to college admissions."

Hargadon pointed out a contradiction he sees in the criticism that early decision forces students to rush to judgement.

"The critics . . . believe that it's fine for students to be deemed mature enough by colleges to offer them admission early, but not mature enough to have yet decided on which college is their first choice," he said.

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Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead said Yale originally chose early decision for the student who knows exactly the school to attend. He said Yale officials never meant for it to become the standard system.

Hargadon said early action likely would prompt more students to apply early, especially since many colleges are starting to let students file multiple early action applications. Yale will ask students not to apply to multiple colleges early.

"I recognize that some colleges would simply welcome the resulting increase in their applications, regardless of how serious or well-thought through such applications may be," he said.

Many college ranking systems, such as U.S. News and World Report, use the selectivity of a school — the number of admitted applicants as a percentage of the number of total applicants — as a main criterion.

Yale sophomore Andrew Sandberg said getting in early was one of the "greatest things" in his life.

"I knew that Yale was my top choice, and so early decision was clearly the best option for me," he said.

"It's not the best choice for everyone, but if your mind is made up, and you get in early, that's the best news you can get. Who doesn't want to agonize over college applications five months less?"