One Way To Get Early College Admission: Be Rich

Colleges often encourage the children of alumni, who receive preferential treatment, to apply early. The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia suggests such “legacies” apply early if they want to get a boost in their chances, according to Eric Furda, dean of admissions. Last month, Penn accepted 54 percent through early decision, tying its record.

Penn is receiving stronger and more socioeconomically diverse early applicants, Furda said. Of the 1,316 admitted last month, 124 were the first in their family to attend college, almost a third more than last year, he said.

Early Programs

Not all early programs are equal. At Penn, students typically apply in November and make a binding commitment to withdraw their other applications if accepted in December, unless they can show they can’t afford to attend.

So-called early action programs are similar, except students don’t have to go if admitted. A handful of early action programs, including those at Harvard, Yale and Princeton, require that students apply only to their school in that round, though they generally have exceptions for some other nonbinding programs.

Early action plans aren’t nearly as discouraging to low- or middle-income families because they can still shop around for financial aid, according to J. Jay Greene, a college counselor with Boca Raton office of Ducerus.

Harvard Reversal

Still, Harvard, until recently, worried about early action’s impact on less-fortunate applicants. In 2006, Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced it was scrapping its program because, as then-President Derek Bok said, it tends to “advantage the advantaged” who are savvy enough to know to apply early. Princeton University, in New Jersey, followed suit.

In 2011, the schools reversed themselves, citing the need for such programs to compete for top students. Last month, Harvard admitted 977. Since 82 percent accepted Harvard’s admissions offers last year, that means about half the spots could be taken for this fall’s freshman class. At Princeton, more than a third could be spoken for.

Harvard said admissions of low-income students have increased since the return of early action. “What matters most is the excellence and promise of the students who matriculate in the fall, not when they apply,” said spokeswoman Anna Cowenhoven.

Princeton declined to comment, referring to a statement four years ago that said it had hoped other colleges would also eliminate early admission. Since they didn’t, the school said it reinstated the program because it was losing some students who wanted to settle their choice sooner even though their first choice was Princeton.

Locking In

No doubt, many students love to lock in their choice in the fall. Dave Kreissman, a senior at Trinity, a private school in New York, was admitted to Northwestern through early decision last month. As others sweated out their applications for April admissions, Kreissman, 18, is planning his next moves, such as landing an internship in Chicago with a sports team.

His family had hired a private college counselor, who showed them the statistical edge of applying early, according to his father, Gary, co-founder of an Internet marketing company. Northwestern’s early admit rate was 36 percent last month. Last year, only 11 percent got in during the regular round.

“There is definitely pressure to pick a school early, and the numbers dictate it,” Dave Kreissman said.