Harvard and Princeton Reverse Course, Reinstate Early Admission Programs

In 2006, Harvard and Princeton made a splash by announcing that they would end their respective early admission programs to even the playing field between wealthier applicants (who tended to apply early) and those who needed financial aid (more low income and minority) that tended to apply in the regular decision pool. Since nobody else - except Virginia - jumped on the bandwagon, both schools announced that they are reinstating early admission programs. Virginia made a similar announcement last year. So, where did the venerable Ivies go wrong? The lack of an early admission program at Harvard and Princeton resulted in a deluge of early applications at the other Ivy League schools, and more applications in the regular pool as high school seniors tried to hedge their bets. Further, the elimination of early admission programs did not result in attracting more low income and minority applicants to Harvard or Princeton, which was the point. Ironically, in announcing the reversal, Harvard cited trends that low income and minority students were choosing programs with early action and early decision programs, and bypassing Harvard. Both schools will offer single-choice early action programs, similar to those at Yale and Stanford, where students can apply early to only one school. Princeton's dean of admission called the new plan a "win-win" for students. I guess we will find out. Stay tuned!