Harvard Modifies Early Decision Rule

The proposal allows students who submit one or more binding early decision applications to another university to apply to Harvard in spite of the honor-bound contract that characterizes binding applications.

Early decision programs prohibit students who have been accepted through early admission at one university from applying elsewhere.

Joe Wrinn, director of news and public affairs at Harvard, said the proposal comes on the heels of a policy change by the National Association for College Admission Counseling that allows students who have applied through a binding early decision program to apply to one other school. The NACAC did not specify what action a student admitted by two schools and bound by one should take.

"(NACAC's decision) is what is driving Harvard's action, not UNC or any other school," Wrinn said.

Jerome Lucido, director of admissions at UNC and supporter of the abolition of early decision programs, stressed the importance of Harvard's announcement.

"If Harvard chooses to go in this direction, it will be another severe blow to early admissions," Lucido said. "By doing this they will have undermined the honor commitment that is the glue of early admissions."

Lucido said Harvard's proposal is a "reconsideration of the honor system" that is vital to the early admission process.

"If Harvard says, 'You don't need to sign this,' it could add to the cynicism that is (already) a part of the early decision program," Lucido said.

Opponents of early decision claim many college-bound students use it as an opportunity to increase their chances of being admitted to schools where they might not get in when up against the regular decision applicant pool.

In May of this year, UNC officials announced that they were doing away with the binding early decision program starting with the class of 2007.

Lucido said he is glad to see top universities reconsider their early admission programs.

Lucido said Harvard's proposed policy will probably require the school to discontinue the use of binding early decision admission -- if it is not going to honor other institutions' binding agreements, Harvard should not require students to sign such agreements.

"Any way you slice it, the bottom line is that if Harvard chooses to do this, early decision is weaker," he said.

Lucido said the public's response since the decision in May has been overwhelmingly positive, with e-mails and letters from high school college counselors, parents and alumni arriving daily.

He said the response from colleges has not been as strong but that Harvard's announcement indicates a growing dialogue on the issue.

Though Lucido said he is proud of the university's decision, he emphasized that UNC is not guiltless as far as early decision is concerned. "We're kind of the reform smoker in this crowd; it's not like we didn't do (early admission) -- we did," he said. "But now we're trying to tell other colleges to examine their programs."

Lucido will present his case against early decision when he speaks at a NACAC conference this September.

He said, "The more it's discussed, the less viable it will seem as a responsible way to have students consider their college selections."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.