U. debates early admit programs

While one in three high school students who applied early to the University was accepted into the class of 2008, those who applied regular decision will face an acceptance rate as low as six percent, if application rates remain relatively constant.

Although she said "the University doesn't do anything based on U.S. News and World Report," President Tilghman expressed her dismay with these statistics in a recent interview.

After strongly defending the University's early admissions policy of the past several years, Tilghman said the administration will be open to considering other options for an early program.

Many critics of the early decision program point to an ethical dilemma inherent in the process, as students who apply early are more likely to come from affluent families and private schools.

Tilghman said she is aware of the concern and believes it to be the "most serious criticism of early decision."

Advice for Rapelye

To this end, Tilghman said she advised Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye that accepting 50 percent of the class of 2008 — roughly 580 students — early would be unwise. Former Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon sent December 'Yes' letters to 591 students in the class of 2007. Rapelye admitted 581 early in the class of 2008.

Tilghman has repeatedly claimed there is a stark difference the quality of the two applicant pools. The early candidates for the class of 2008, she said, may be the strongest the University has ever seen.

She characterized the 25 percent decline in early applicants as inevitable, citing the change in admission policies at Harvard and Yale Universities to non-binding early action as the principal cause. Tilghman did not deny that the University's administration is considering following suit.

"I told Dean Rapelye it would be foolish of her to change admission policy in her first year. But after she has had a chance to acclimate, the administration will begin to explore its options," Tilghman said.

This may be at least partially motivated by Yale's recent successes in capturing applicant attention. Yale posted impressive gains in the number of early applicants even before switching to early action last year.

Stanford, which also uses an early action program, witnessed a 62 percent increase in early applications for the class of 2008, with Yale close behind at 50 percent.

Tilghman said she was unconcerned that this year the University's number of early applicants was one of the lowest in the Ivy League.

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Brown had more interest, as 1,863 applied early compared to Princeton's 1,815.

"It's hard to take this problem seriously since I believe the quality of our admitted student body has not suffered," said Tilghman.

The volume of applicants in the early pool is not the only early statistic in flux: the composition of the admitted class has also changed. The number of students seeking engineering degrees who were accepted early increased by 27 percent.

The University's goal, Tilghman said, has always been to have one fifth of the student body earn a B.S.E. degree. However, numerous students leave the B.S.E. program each year in favor of a major in the humanities or arts. By accepting more students to the B.S.E. track, the University hopes to meet its eventual quota of 20 percent.

At a November 10, 2003 meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community, the administration announced a desire to enlarge the size of the natural sciences departments. Admissions would be one place to further this agenda, Tilghman said.

"However, you can't make significant changes in the area of admissions simply because of the dynamic of student tastes," she said.