The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the early decision admissions practices of some universities, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Submitting an early decision application can result in higher chances of acceptance for certain elite colleges. However, an early acceptance typically means that a student has to commit to that school and withdraw any other pending applications.
“According to media reports, the department is examining some schools that may have shared lists of students accepted under such programs,” said a press statement from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization of college admissions officers.
NACAC did not provide any additional comments on the issue.
At the heart of the federal investigation is whether or not colleges have been violating antitrust laws by sharing this information with other schools. The Department of Justice sent a letter to the schools involved in the investigation. According to Inside Higher Ed, these schools are meant to keep records of any communications between colleges about applicant information.
Higher education experts have varying opinions on how prevalent the practice of sharing applicant information actually is. Terry Hartle, the senior vice president of government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, told Inside Higher Ed that applicants are aware of the terms of their acceptance, so anyone who does not want to potentially have their information shared should not apply early decision. He also said this situation involves only a handful of applicants.
Hartle was unavailable when asked to provide further comment.
An admissions official from another university, who was not identified for privacy reasons, told The Chronicle of Higher Education that their school would share the names of early decision students simply to verify that nobody applied to more than one binding program. The process is not meant to share other identifying information, such as test scores.
College officials reported to Inside Higher Ed that students who apply to schools via the Common Application also have to read and sign a statement saying they cannot apply early decision to more than one university and that families and high school counselors are made aware of this policy.
