With the second round of early decision applications complete, admissions staff have sequestered themselves away as they work to finalize decisions.
Not every school provides a second Early Decision option, but the college continues to offer one in case a student misses visiting, testing, or interviewing opportunities before the first early decision deadline, said Dean of Admissions Jim Bock ’90.
The Admissions Office does not record separate statistics for fall and winter Early Decision applicants. “We report combined numbers for both fall and early decision as that is how guide books and surveys report them. It is easier and cleaner to add the numbers and report our combined early decision statistics for the sake of comparison,“ said Bock. Nevertheless, the numbers show that students are attracted to both options.
According to Bock, the college received approximately 540 early decision applicants this year, second only to last year’s 575 and only the third year in which the college has broken the 500 Early Decision applicant mark. Last year the College received 6,616 total applications, compared to a record 6,632 this year.
The students applying have not changed much either. “The pool remains competitive and strong on all measures,” said Bock. Admitted students highlighted finding kindred spirits as their motivation for applying early.
“I immediately connected with the student body,” said Emma Eppley, a senior at the College Preparatory School in Berkeley, CA, who was accepted early. Eppley fondly recalls a campus visit that involved hallway conversations on an eclectic range of topics, from technological advances over the past fifty years to DNA sequencing to Tolkien and Firefly.
Demographically, fewer women and more men applied early than in previous years, as did a record number of non-U.S. citizens. Geographically, there were fewer early decision applicants from the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic. The college also saw a drop in early applicants from New York, a trend that may have resulted from Hurricane Sandy. “We worked with several students who needed extensions to submit transcripts, scores, and other support material due to school closings in early November,” said Bock.
Although he cannot comment on matriculation and admission statistics until decisions are mailed, Bock said, “We are excited by this year’s combined early pool.”
