The University of Connecticut introduced an early decision option for prospective undergraduates for the first time this year and applications closed on Nov. 1, two and a half months ahead of the regular Jan. 15 deadline. Students who apply early decision commit to one university and if they are accepted, they cannot attend another university.
Neag professor Kenny Nienhusser discussed which universities choose to implement early decision.
“Typically, we’re talking about institutions that are more selective and highly selective education institutions that are going ahead and engaging in those processes,” said Nienhusser.
University spokesperson Stephanie Reitz outlined the benefits of early decision for applicants in a written statement.
“For students who are sure that UConn is their top choice, it provides certainty early in their college search process as to whether they will be future Huskies, and lets them start their planning while they’re still early in their senior year,” said Reitz.
Reitz also discussed the benefits to UConn of offering early decision.
“It also helps UConn by giving us a partial picture of the potential next incoming class, including their preferred majors, whether they’re primarily from Connecticut or elsewhere, whether particular campuses are drawing strong interest, and the anticipated demand for housing and other services,” said Reitz.
Nienhusser stated that early decision is likely to benefit white, higher income populations.
“This is going to be individuals who have more access to college search information, who have access to counsellors who are guiding them,” said Nienhusser.
He discussed the impacts of early decision on college affordability for students.
“Early decision students normally will have a higher probability of being able to tap into institutional aid,” said Nienhusser.
He explained that students who apply early decision are required to commit to one university, regardless of out-of-pocket cost and without the ability to compare aid offers at other universities.
“Early decision means that you’re bound to that decision,” said Nienhusser. “So, it’s a little bit of a gamble. Right, if you’re trying to couple admissions with financial aid because you’re only committing to that one institution so you don’t know what the financial aid implications of that decision could be. You may never know. So that’s a drawback of early decision.”
Reitz said that statistics on early decision applicants are not being released at the moment because the acceptance notification process is currently underway.
Following U.S. Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, colleges can no longer consider race in admission decisions.
“Admissions officers are not able to look at the race and ethnicity of applicants,” said Nienhusser. “Now, that doesn’t mean that they can’t consider other elements that could be related to race in their decisions. Like hardships—that’s a common area where the Supreme Court said that that could be considered.”
Nienhusser gave the example that, in an application essay, students could mention their experience growing up in a low-income community with low quality schools as a hardship, which could be considered in a holistic way.
“Almost 46% of the Storrs first-year students this fall were students of color, about 8% were international students, and the class included a record of over 1,200 are recipients of federal Pell Grants,” said Reitz.
Reitz stated that UConn works with schools to ensure that potential applicants to UConn are aware of resources.
“UConn also continues to ensure that its programming and campus climate support the needs and cultures of diverse learners, and works with high schools and other organizations to ensure that potential applicants know of that commitment and those resources,” said Reitz.