The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Admissions | Early's out for elite schools, but 'double-dippers' not an issue

With Harvard and Princeton holding out until the spring, could a binding early-decision acceptance to Penn be not so binding?

The possibility of early admitted students breaking matriculation agreements is usually fairly marginal, but this year marks the first admissions season in which students will not have the option to apply early to Harvard and Princeton universities.

The two schools announced last fall they were dropping their early-application programs.

And without those top schools on students' early-decision radar, students might be more tempted to get out of a binding agreement with Penn if they are accepted to first-choice Harvard or Princeton during the regular-admissions process.

Still, safeguards against this sort of situation remain in place, and Interim Dean of Admissions Eric Kaplan and several admissions experts say they don't think the absence of those two schools in early admissions will pose a problem.

"Given Penn's popularity and desirability among high-school seniors, we find that students are eager to honor the commitment that they will enroll if they are admitted," Kaplan said.

In early admissions, in which students usually receive a

response in December, schools usually offer one of two options: Early decision, where students are contractually obligated to attend if accepted, and early action, which is non-binding.

Penn has been a staunch supporter of its early-decision program and has had few problems getting students to follow through with their commitments; Kaplan said more than 99 percent of students admitted early matriculated in the past few years.

But the lure of an acceptance from Harvard and Princeton during the spring could entice students to ultimately backtrack, and admissions officials say there are a few instances each year of students trying to switch out of early decision.

At Harvard, director of Undergraduate Admissions Marlyn McGrath-Lewis noted that each year a few students - usually fewer than 10 - who were accepted into another school's early-decision program gain admission to Harvard during its regular-decision process.

In such cases, Harvard, like most other schools, will rescind its acceptances.

Yale University Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel wrote in an e-mail that early-decision violations are rare due to monitoring by high-school counselors.

Sally Rubenstone of admissions Web site collegeconfidential.com explained that some colleges will share lists of accepted students after the early-decision round so other schools can pick out possible "double-dippers," as Rubenstone called it.

Harvard and Penn don't use lists, which are often only compiled by smaller liberal-arts colleges, McGrath-Lewis said.

Still, most schools, including Penn, will allow students to break their early-decision commitment if the financial burden is too high.

That usually only accounts for a few students each year, officials say.

Penn's deadline for early decision was Nov. 1 and expects to release the number of applications received sometime later this month.

Comments (4)

[QUOTE id="31f4c11f-2d11-4f5d-8bce-844aba66a2e5"]I'm appalled that there isn't a more public outcry against the undeniable injustice of early admissions at Penn. However, considering that so many students at Penn are beneficiaries of this of this practice for the privileged and don't see how there's anything unegalitarian or wrong with the practice, for no reason other than it directly benefits themselves or other members of the upper middle class who doesn't give a shit about giving non privileged students an equal shot at the admissions process. Stop pretending you're a liberal school and just admit you want to protect your established privileges like every other conservative force in history that hates a change when it makes them play on a level field with everyone else. Penn - school that defends liberal issues, except when it comes to those directly opposing the power of the rich and the upper-middle class (a codeword most Penn Students use because they're rich and so out of it that they don't know what middle class means).[/QUOTE] So the people who run Penn are just liberal poseurs and not genuine Maoist revolutionaries? I'm shocked to hear this. And here I thought Amy Gutmann was a latter day Rosa Luxemburg. Thanks to you I know better now. One of leftism's biggest mistakes is the idea that "equality" means that we all have to be reduced to the lowest common denominator - if there is one person without shoes, we all must go barefoot too. Isn't it better to fix the problems you perceive in ED (problems that I'm not even sure are real, but put that aside for now) rather than throw the baby out with the bath water? ED is not only beneficial to Penn as an institution (and not to Harvard and Princeton) but is also a great convenience to many students (not having to apply to 10 schools) not all of whom are relived class enemies.

[QUOTE id="31f4c11f-2d11-4f5d-8bce-844aba66a2e5"]I'm appalled that there isn't a more public outcry against the undeniable injustice of early admissions at Penn. However, considering that so many students at Penn are beneficiaries of this of this practice for the privileged and don't see how there's anything unegalitarian or wrong with the practice, for no reason other than it directly benefits themselves or other members of the upper middle class who doesn't give a shit about giving non privileged students an equal shot at the admissions process. Stop pretending you're a liberal school and just admit you want to protect your established privileges like every other conservative force in history that hates a change when it makes them play on a level field with everyone else. Penn - school that defends liberal issues, except when it comes to those directly opposing the power of the rich and the upper-middle class (a codeword most Penn Students use because they're rich and so out of it that they don't know what middle class means).[/QUOTE] Well, you certainly seem sufficiently pissed off about the ED policy, but nowhere in your rant did you explain WHY you believe ED disenfranchises "non-privileged" applicants. It's not like it costs more to apply ED, so why couldn't an underprivileged minority apply early and gain the same benefits as anyone else? And while applying early does preclude knowing your financial aid award before committing to matriculating at Penn, it seems to me that anyone who you would describe as "non-privileged" would probably qualify for a sizable need-based grant anyway. Besides, financial concerns are usually considered a valid reason to break an ED contract. Those are the only reasons I can think of, so then... what exactly are you talking about? I always thought that I was pretty solidly middle-class (I'm definitely not "rich"), but I was able to use and benefit from the early decision policy, so by your definition I was one of those powerful, privileged rich kids? That's news to me.

I'm appalled that there isn't a more public outcry against the undeniable injustice of early admissions at Penn. However, considering that so many students at Penn are beneficiaries of this of this practice for the privileged and don't see how there's anything unegalitarian or wrong with the practice, for no reason other than it directly benefits themselves or other members of the upper middle class who doesn't give a shit about giving non privileged students an equal shot at the admissions process. Stop pretending you're a liberal school and just admit you want to protect your established privileges like every other conservative force in history that hates a change when it makes them play on a level field with everyone else. Penn - school that defends liberal issues, except when it comes to those directly opposing the power of the rich and the upper-middle class (a codeword most Penn Students use because they're rich and so out of it that they don't know what middle class means).

[QUOTE id="31f4c11f-2d11-4f5d-8bce-844aba66a2e5"]I'm appalled that there isn't a more public outcry against the undeniable injustice of early admissions at Penn. However, considering that so many students at Penn are beneficiaries of this of this practice for the privileged and don't see how there's anything unegalitarian or wrong with the practice, for no reason other than it directly benefits themselves or other members of the upper middle class who doesn't give a shit about giving non privileged students an equal shot at the admissions process. Stop pretending you're a liberal school and just admit you want to protect your established privileges like every other conservative force in history that hates a change when it makes them play on a level field with everyone else. Penn - school that defends liberal issues, except when it comes to those directly opposing the power of the rich and the upper-middle class (a codeword most Penn Students use because they're rich and so out of it that they don't know what middle class means).[/QUOTE] Wow... I'm appalled that people who think like this exist. Penn should not "pretend to be a liberal school" because it should not be seeking to be any particular type of school! It should be seeking truth through academic endeavors- liberal, conservative, or otherwise. I can't stand that Penn has portrayed itself as such a bastion of liberalism that now liberals are complaining that Penn is "pretending" to be a liberal school. Also, I love when people find elements of class-warfare in virtually EVERYTHING! Penn has kept early decision because PENN benefits from it, not because a particular class of people do! Get a life.

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