Early Decision: Playing the College Admissions game

I had an argument with a mixed group of educated, and, what I'd deem, "smart" people who know a thing or two about psychology, education and business. The argument involved applying to college.

The topic came up because I stated that a young lady, that I know personally, used her ability to play squash to "help" get her admitted, early decision, to Princeton University. I stated that the young lady who is White, and comes from a wealthy family, figured out what her options were and played her cards right (Her high school transcript and overall "profile" was not as strong as some other applicants).

I stated that the same thing happens with Black students, particularly students-athletes, who are encouraged by the athletic department and the respective coach, to apply Early Decision or Early Action.

It was about 3-years ago, Harvard University did away with Early Decision and the other Ivy League schools followed suit and so did local colleges --College of the Holy Cross, Assumption College and Clark University. (I know a thing or two about Admissions and Early Decision/Early Action because I used to work in college admissions.)

Back to the argument: Why should a kid, who hasn't performed to the their fullest ability, be admitted to college by applying as an Early Decision applicant?

Well, it all boils down to getting admitted to the student's number 1 school!

The kid that applies "Early Decision" may feel that their application is not that strong and if thrown in with all the other applicants, they would surely be denied or, hopefully, wait-listed.

For the college/ university it makes sense to secure a good portion of the class before the end of December. Also, a big piece of the puzzle involves MONEY!

Students that apply "Early Decision" rarely receive any financial aid and have to pay for tuition, room and board out of pocket or they have to secure outside grants or scholarships or apply for a student loan.

You see, the high school guidance counselors know this, the admissions counselors know it, and yet many families and the applicant make this "commitment" to the college, typically before Christmas.

Adding insult to injury, most colleges/ universities now accept the "Common Application", and it allows students to apply to more colleges of their choice, electronically, with one application and a few, if any, supplements.

Nowadays, high school seniors are applying to, on average, 10 colleges! Yes, you read that correctly......they're applying to 10 schools (way too many, in my opinion).

So the conversation continued for another 45-minutes about the young lady that applied to Princeton University. Two people argued that she "used the tools that were in her toolbox" to gain admittance, while three (3) folks felt that she "played the system", and shouldn't have been admitted. They were very adamant that she was probably taking a space from someone who was better qualified and would benefit from an education at prestigious Princeton.

Let's just say that the conversation would have continued for a few more hours, but it was getting late and we agreed that we'd continue this conversation the next time we got together. (I'll be sure to write about that conversation and its many hot buttons.)