THIS FALL, thousands of high school seniors applied early to their colleges of choice. They sent applications to Duke, Maryland, Yale, and other schools across the country that accept early applications. Virginia residents who wanted to stay in-state applied to William and Mary, Virginia Tech and Washington and Lee. None applied to the University. Consequently, before the University admissions staff even began reading applications, many high school seniors had already committed to other colleges.
Last year, University administrators eliminated early admissions in an effort to increase accessibility for low-income students. Harvard and Princeton did the same. All three schools received record numbers of applicants this year, and have suggested that ending early applications did not diminish their overall admissions. According to Dean of Admissions John Blackburn, the University experienced a 4 percent increase in total admissions this year. By eliminating early decision, the University seems to have increased accessibility to low-income students, while still enjoying strong admissions results.
However, focusing on the overall number of applicants does not capture the real consequences of ending early admissions. Colleges across the country -- regardless of their admissions policies -- have experienced significant increases in applications. The University of Chicago reported an 18 percent increase in applications. Amherst, Northwestern, and Dartmouth experienced increases of 17, 10, and 14 percent respectively. In fact, last year, with early decision still in place, the University reported a 12 percent increase in applicants, according to Blackburn. These record numbers reflect the high school student population: The number of high school seniors continues to grow, and each student is applying to more colleges than ever before.
Regardless of total applications, the University's new admissions policy will hinder admissions efforts in Charlottesville. In the coming years, students will continue to apply early to college; only they will not be applying to the University. Other colleges will have the first opportunity to admit the most accomplished high school seniors. Over the past ten years, on average, 2,300 students have applied for early decision at the University annually. Unfortunately, going forward, hundreds of these students
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