Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation + Vice President of Enrollment & Communication || 32 years of Experience || Strategist || Leader || Innovator & Reinventor ||Talent Multiplier
The University of Chicago will be offering an EARLY Early Decision program beginning this fall. It's brilliant #admissions and #recruitment strategy and we can expect elite college across the country, which offer robust pre-college and talent identification programs, to follow along. The program is described on their website, but the short of it is they are inviting pre-college programs to apply ED earlier than other applicants. It's smart. It will incentivize participation in their pre-college programs. It will also further incentivize applying binding early decision. The EARLY Early Decision program might as well (and most likely will evolve into) be Direct Admit for program participants. I believe there is a very good possibility that when admissions rates are released (if they do so), they will look something like this: EARLY Early Decision admit rate: 75% Early Decision admit rate: 25% Regular Decision admit rate: < 10% Elite colleges with robust pre-college programs have always had an advantage because of their attractive programming and emphasis on fully utilizing their physical plant. Many have also launched online summer enrichment programs, too. Programs like EARLY Early Decision will only accelerate the market advantages of elites and the demand for these programs now that they are more transparently connected to admissions will explode, especially once they release admission rates. Again, this is brilliant admissions and recruitment strategy. #emchat #admissions #admission #highered #strategy
Katy Murphy
5mo
Goodness, another advantage for those who can afford pre college programs and those who have good college counseling or agreesive parents or both. I lament this development as this will add even more stress to students, families and counselors in the Spring of the junior year. I would ask, does Chicago really need this?
Chris Blackwell
5mo
I propose that this should be more appropriately be termed as "Rolling Early Decision" because they promise a decision three weeks after a completed application (or before November 1) but there's otherwise not a designated deadline to apply or release date. But I am concerned now about the increase in pressure my students will feel to be accepted to a summer program just so that they can have the opportunity to be in the Rolling ED pool, and the subsequent anxiety of fearing that they need to apply early in the fall for fear that they'll miss out on being among the limited spots reserved for RED applicants (oh now looking at that acronym, maybe we stick with EED...)
Mark Hampton
5mo
Not sure I see the benefit this will have for students (except for the few exceptionally talented 16 year olds who are beyond convinced that UofC is the only college option for them). Often, moves like this are to increase yield rate and decrease admission rate. What 16-17 year old is ready to make a decision that affects the next four years of life? Pushing students into the funnel earlier isn't serving students.
Savvy indeed. Presumably, the summer programs are soon to be fully subscribed (and/or expanded), if they aren't already, with net tuition revenue (overall and per student) much higher than they were this year. Meanwhile, while Chicago is need blind/meets full need for undergrads, this is how it works for the summer programs: "Financial aid is awarded to students who demonstrate financial need and is available on a first-come, first-served basis."
Mark Moody
5mo
It's brilliant if you don't respect teenagers, senior year of high school, or brain development. If you care about those things, ED is nonsense and this is an embarrassment.
Christine Hees
5mo
This pay-to-play move favors both U of Chicago and affluent applicants, reducing opportunities for others who cannot afford to pay full price. Yet another curveball in the admissions game for the majority of high school students.
Enrollment Management, Data Visualization, College Access
5moWe will respond with EARLY Early early Decision