Harvard May Be Early Action Holdout

Harvard may eventually be the only Ivy League school to offer an Early Action admissions option, officials at three Ivy League schools indicated yesterday.

Princeton, Yale and Brown said they may drop the Early Action option in favor of Early Decision in the years ahead.

Early Action allows students to apply to and receive notification from an institution before the January admissions deadline. Early Decision requires candidates to commit to attend that institution if accepted.

Robert A. Reichley, Brown's vice president for university relations, said his school would consider a change if Princeton and Yale did first.

"It is our understanding that these [changes] are under serious consideration," Reichley said.

Steve Lemenager, Princeton's associate dean of admissions, said Thursday that his University has thought about altering its admissions structure.

"We are in the process of thinking about [the change]... for the class of 2000," he said.

Lloyd Peterson Jr., associate director for undergraduate admissions at Yale, said the New Haven school has not yet had time to fully discuss the chance of changing to Early-Decision.

"There will be some discussion," he said. "That's a guarantee."

The officials said they need to think about how the switch would affect the application pool to their schools.

"[We have to] think about how it will affect...our application pool," Peterson said. "It's time to rethink that."

Peterson said public response to possible changes is also important in determining Yale's course of action.

"Early Decision locks students in," Peterson said. "The competition for students has increased so much the last few years...[With Early Decision,] you have a better handle on the numbers."

For the time being, Peterson said, Yale is comfortable with its Early-Action program.

Harvard Won't Change

Harvard, however, remains firm in its decision to offer Early Action.

Director of Admissions Marlyn M. Lewis '70 said that even if the other Ivy League schools switch to Early Decision, Harvard has no intention of following their lead.

"We have no plan at all to abandon the current program," Lewis said. "It's a terrific thing for us and an asset for people who might want to go to Harvard."

Lewis pointed to Harvard's admissions yield rate of 75 percent as one reason why "we are convinced that [Early Decision] wouldn't serve our best interest."

"[Harvard would be] very reluctant to move to an admissions process that binds people by the time they apply," she said.

Paul K. Killebrew, associate director of admissions for Dartmouth College, said he could understand why schools might want to change their Early Action programs.

"There are justifications for both (Early Action and Early Decision) in general; it has to do with your competitive position...It has to do with marketing strategy and judging one's position in the group [of Ivy-League schools]."

He said Harvard had no need to change its program because it does not have the need to bind students early.

"Early Action... encourages students to send in a lot of applications... and to decide later where they really want to go," Reichley said.

Lewis said that to bind students to matriculation through Early Decision "doesn't seem fair."

Reichley said Brown's Early Action program has secured a high rate of matriculation.

"It would appear that [Early Action] has been successful," he said

"Early Decision locks students in," Peterson said. "The competition for students has increased so much the last few years...[With Early Decision,] you have a better handle on the numbers."

For the time being, Peterson said, Yale is comfortable with its Early-Action program.

Harvard Won't Change

Harvard, however, remains firm in its decision to offer Early Action.

Director of Admissions Marlyn M. Lewis '70 said that even if the other Ivy League schools switch to Early Decision, Harvard has no intention of following their lead.

"We have no plan at all to abandon the current program," Lewis said. "It's a terrific thing for us and an asset for people who might want to go to Harvard."

Lewis pointed to Harvard's admissions yield rate of 75 percent as one reason why "we are convinced that [Early Decision] wouldn't serve our best interest."

"[Harvard would be] very reluctant to move to an admissions process that binds people by the time they apply," she said.

Paul K. Killebrew, associate director of admissions for Dartmouth College, said he could understand why schools might want to change their Early Action programs.

"There are justifications for both (Early Action and Early Decision) in general; it has to do with your competitive position...It has to do with marketing strategy and judging one's position in the group [of Ivy-League schools]."

He said Harvard had no need to change its program because it does not have the need to bind students early.

"Early Action... encourages students to send in a lot of applications... and to decide later where they really want to go," Reichley said.

Lewis said that to bind students to matriculation through Early Decision "doesn't seem fair."

Reichley said Brown's Early Action program has secured a high rate of matriculation.

"It would appear that [Early Action] has been successful," he said