Early admission

Early admission (English for "early admission " ) is a method to offer the U.S. universities their applicants. It is aimed at prospective students who are early ready to set up, on which university they want to leave again after high school.

The early - admission applicants must register with the university of their choice in comparison to the regular application (often regular decision, English for " regular decision." ) Apply relatively early; for studies beginning in the late summer, the deadline is usually in November of last year. For candidates already know well against mid-December whether they will be admitted. Some universities with great demand candidates already have their regular application deadlines at this time, or at least towards the end of November. However, many other universities set their deadlines to the beginning of January at the earliest and give their decisions only known early April; Some universities even accept applications until April. U.S. universities give regular first-year applicants who apply for studies or to the undergraduate for late summer / fall, in general, to decide by 1 May for or against their place of study.

The early - admission process almost all " selective " ( candidate selective ) universities are binding (early decision, for " early decision " ), in only a few exceptions, they are non- binding ( early action, for "early action / early action " ). In a binding early decision, the commitment, if necessary, early obtained the university must also be perceived. Must be distinguished from the non-bonding process (eg Harvard University until 2006), in which the applicant only if necessary get an early commitment, but it does not have to accept. They are available again in two versions: in one variant allow many colleges that he applied only at a university in the context of early admission (eg since 2004, Yale and Stanford ). Also becoming increasingly the other variant in popularity, according to which the University allows the candidates, in parallel to apply in other ( non- binding ) early - admission procedures (eg Georgetown University). If the process only allow a single early application, compliance with which is monitored primarily by the average in the U.S. application consultants of high schools, which then send the necessary applications for school transcript of records to only one college.

The main incentive of early admission is that most colleges accept a higher percentage of early -decision applicants than regular applicants. This is explained by the fact that only apply Students who can present already promising notes and application forms at this time, and that candidate, because they have to commit to a college that particularly close attention to a good fit of their profile with the university. Nevertheless, the early candidate shall be overall as a means for improving opportunities.

The universities, in turn, build on it to get through the process more qualified applicants and thus to attract better students and at the same time to supplement their university rankings. Because the well known, although controversial, university ranking by U.S. News & World Report was considered by 2003, as many of the candidates selected recordings to a university study. Binding method improved this value very effective since the early candidates selected had indeed obliged also to accept their place of study. According to a Harvard study (about 2002) had candidates who are admitted on the procedure, but actually weaker academic performance and by an average of 100 points lower SAT test values ​​as regularly approved candidates.

At some universities there are early - admission process for several decades (eg, at the University of Virginia since the sixties ). On the other hand they were only introduced in the nineties (eg Yale around 1996 and Stanford mid- nineties ) or recently changed (eg Harvard joined in 1998 by binding to non -binding procedures; just as Yale and Stanford 2002, see below).

Criticism of the early admission and abolition of some universities

About the early approval is discussed in the U.S. for several years. Considered to be problematic, that the offer of early admission of certain groups of applicants is less visible. These include in particular applicants from low-income families whose children are more reliant on to compare the offered by universities financial support; generally prefer many U.S. universities early candidate for the award of financial assistance, regardless of early - admission process. As further disadvantaged by the process of the population minorities, applicants from rural areas and non- studied family and international applicants apply. Applicants from well-off families of academics and of benefit schools are prepared by family and teachers instead relatively early on the university application and informed. Controversies on the other hand, if the process increases or minimize stress. Opponents of early registration argue that the stress long before study entry will increase to early to make a decision and put on a job application can. Advocating counter that lost if successful early approval for the Stresse the remaining year of high school; High schools and universities, in turn, counter that leads to declining efforts in the last school year and thus problematic gaps in knowledge.

Back in 2001, had with Brown University, who "used " number of applicants from non- binding to binding method passed due to high (for applicants for 2002 ), a large prestigious university tightened their early - admission process.

While acknowledging the criticism, however, announced the Beloit College in Wisconsin end of March 2002 as the first " selective " (applicants aussuchende ) College on to emphasize his early -decision procedure without replacement. A month later, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the first major and prestigious U.S. university; she had only three years earlier, introduced the procedure by a brief stint in the early seventies again. After the university president of Yale had since at least 2001 previously criticized the injustice of early - admission process, the university let it be known in November 2002, they point for applicants for the fall of 2004, their binding to a non -binding process in order. Within hours the Stanford University announced at the same step. Both universities said they had acted independently.

In June 2006, the University of Delaware joined with the message to the public that they phase out their early -decision procedure and only regular applications would accept the fall of 2007. In the autumn of Harvard announced, followed closely by the prestigious universities of Princeton and Virginia, to abolish the early - admission process. Your change was for the start of the study in the fall of 2008. All three universities registered for this academic year, sharply increased number of applicants, which Harvard had also announced increased financial support for students from families with middle and high income. However, the universities resulted in the increase in numbers at least partially also due to the change of their early - admission policy. Back in the spring, the University of Florida had announced to abolish their early -decision procedure.