With the first round of Early Decision (ED) applications for the class of 2011 in the Admission Office’s hands, the University has reported a rise in Mid-western and student-of-color applicants, as well as stronger profiles from public-school students.
“We look at the quality and the size of the pool and base our decisions on that,” said Senior Associate Dean of Admission Gregory Pyke.
This year, 378 high school students opted to apply ED, pledging not to accept admission to another institution if the University accepts them. In return, these students receive their admission decision in the fall of their senior year, instead of the spring.
Wesleyan administers two phases of ED, Option I and Option II. This year, the Option I deadline was Nov. 15. The Admission Office will mail its notifications on Dec. 12. The deadline for Option II is Jan. 1, with notification by Feb. 15.
“It’s been fairly constant in the last five years,” Pyke said of ED application profiles.
The Option I pool for ’11 rose by 14 applications from last year, when 364 applications were received for Option 1.
The University saw the greatest demographic change in students-of-color this year, which rose from 46 applicants last year to 71 this year. The applicant pool from the Midwest rose slightly, from 20 to 31.
Other demographic categories remained the same or fluctuated by no more than five applications, Pyke said, including relatives of alumni or current students and students requesting financial aid. Although the number of applications from public high schools did not change dramatically, down from 231 to 228 this year, the quality of the pool improved noticeably, Pyke said.
“Based on a reading of our files, the public high schools’ preparation has progressed,” he said.
The percentage of public school applicants who have studied a foreign language for at least four years has risen from 62 percent to 74 percent this year. Students with calculus on their transcript has risen from 50 percent to 57 percent Finally, students who have studied biology, chemistry, and physics in high school have risen from 62 percent to 70 percent.
Pyke attributed this progress to the initiative of prospective students.
“When students visit—and a lot from ED have—they get our profile, and they see that we care about academic preparation,” he said. “If they visit during their junior year, they make changes for their senior year.”
According to Pyke, the University implemented an ED process for more than 30 years, but ED matriculates have never composed more than 40 percent of the admitted freshman class.
“There’s a functional limit,” Pyke said. “There’s no predetermined number. But the ED decision is certainly limited.”
Last year, the University admitted 175 of the 364 ED Option I applicants.
While Harvard University and Princeton University have recently eliminated early-action from their application processes, ED and Early Action (EA) still operate at colleges and universities across the nation. Although EA generally follows the same deadlines as ED, it is not binding. A student may apply to and accept admittance to other institutions even after receiving acceptance from the institution to which they applied under EA.
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