Students walk near Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California.
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"It's like locking in your prom date early," says Fox, who is also chair of NACAC's admission practices committee. "When you've found the right one, you're ready. I try to share their excitement, but I wish they'd taken more time to consider all their other options."
Meredith Bergen, 17, felt she didn't need or want other options when she was accepted by Emory & Henry College in Emory, Va., in August. The senior at Downingtown East High School in Downingtown, Pa., came upon the school by searching for desired attributes like size and selection of majors on the Princeton Review's web site. She took a tour of the campus—"just me and my mom and my sister and the tour guide"—and found it "beautiful" and "friendly."
When she was accepted, she felt so relieved and happy that she immediately sent in her $400 deposit. "Senior year is so hectic," says Bergen. "I don't have the extra stress of writing essays and filling out applications." She doesn't think she'll change her mind in the 12 months until she starts college. "Right now, I am pretty sure that Emory & Henry is the one."
At Boston College, applications begin to arrive at the office during the summer, although the review process doesn't begin till Nov. 1. The school accepts about 36% of students who apply early, while its overall admit rate is under 30%. Educators say admit rates—or yields—are typically higher for early admissions because the students tend to be of a high quality.
"I applaud Harvard" for eradicating early admissions altogether, says Pete Caruso, associate director of admissions at B.C. Five years ago, he says he might have been firmly in that camp. But today, the onslaught of applications—boosted by the ease of applying online—makes the administrative slog of processing them nearly unmanageable. Beginning the process early buys overworked college admissions workers a little extra time to provide "quality reads," he says.