By Annie Liang & Jason He
Gargoyle co-editor-in-chief & staff reporter
Posted Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006, The OG, news

Harvard University announced plans today to discontinue its early admissions program on the grounds that it adds extra stress on applicants and puts minorities and low-income students at a disadvantage.

Starting in the fall of 2007, all students applying for a spot in Harvard's freshman class will do so under a single deadline of Jan. 1.

“We think this will produce a fairer process, because the existing process has been shown to advantage those who are already advantaged,” Derek Bok, the interim president of Harvard, said in an interview with The New York Times. “Students from more sophisticated backgrounds and affluent high schools often apply early to increase their chances of admission, while minority students and students from rural areas, other countries, and high schools with fewer resources miss out.”

Most Uni students the Gargoyle interviewed were indifferent, but several disapproved of the change.

“The early admissions program is like a first-screening process — the people who are going to do well at Harvard and profit most from going there are the people who would apply early,” junior Claire Johnson said. “By doing away with the early admissions process, they will be hurting the students who most want to go.”

Junior Ruthie Welch voices a similar disfavor: “I think in a lot of ways it's kind of a bum [rap] to say that minorities can't apply early like ‘rich white people.' Early is about motivation, not about whether you have supportive parents. I think a lot of people who belong to minorities would feel offended.”

Some students welcomed the change.

“I think it's a good thing,” said one student who asked to remain anonymous. “That way, you don't have to do your application until later, and you won't feel like you're behind.”

Approximately 400 colleges use programs known as “early action” and “early decision,” which give students the opportunity to submit their applications two months or more in advance for an earlier notification of their admissions decision. Many restrict early action applicants from also applying elsewhere early, and students applying under early decision are required to matriculate if accepted.

The binding nature of early admissions frequently yields higher acceptance rates, but the pool of applicants is usually more qualified, too. Last year, Harvard accepted 21 percent of students who applied under early action, while the acceptance rate for non-early applicants was just 7 percent.

Many other prestigious universities with early admissions options have a history of changing their rules for such programs, but none have eliminated them entirely. Harvard hopes that other institutions will soon follow its path, but officials at other colleges have voiced mixed opinions about how they would change.

Harvard Dean of Admissions William Fitzsimmons said that, if necessary, the school will offer early admissions again.

“If after several years … we find ourselves needing to reinstate early admission to preserve the quality of our student body, we will return to early action,” he told the Harvard University Gazette.

For more coverage, click here to view today's article in The New York Times.