UVa Eliminated Early Decision in 2006 to Level the Admissions Playing Field. Why Is It Coming Back?

In 2006 the University of Virginia removed early decision as an admissions option for prospective students in the interest of diversity. A mainstay in the institution’s admissions process since the 1960s, early decision is more commonly used by wealthier, more advantaged students, and fewer low-income students apply through it, administrators said in 2006.

But on Thursday the university announced it would reinstate early decision as one of three admissions timelines students can use, in addition to early action and regular decision.

Through early action, a practice the university started in 2011, a student can apply to multiple colleges early but is not required to attend any of them if offered admission, typically in January. Early decision, however, requires students to commit to a college or university that admits them, usually in December, before a financial-aid package is calculated.

“After speaking with students, families, and high schools across the nation, we found that the interest in early notification has increased,” said Greg Roberts, dean of admission. The university received more than 20,000 early-action applications last year.

Roberts said the university is mindful that early decision is popular among affluent families. But because the university cannot anticipate how large the early-decision pool will be, Roberts said, it can’t predict the percentage of students likely to be admitted through early decision.

But he denied that the restoration of early decision would unbalance the admissions playing field. “If we felt that adding early decision would jeopardize the gains we’ve made in diversity, there is no way we would have done this,” he said.

A 2016 analysis by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation found that high-achieving, low-income students are half as likely as are their wealthy peers to apply early, even though it would increase their likelihood of admission.

“Applying early benefits any student who does it,” said Jennifer Glynn, director of research at the foundation. “But what we found is that wealthier students are more likely to apply, and so it becomes a question of access.”

Offering early decision as another application option creates more flexibility for families and students who know that the university is their first choice, Roberts said.

“We’re approaching this as an additional option for some students,” he said, “but this isn’t designed to give anyone an advantage in the process review.”

Follow Terry Nguyen on Twitter at @terrygtnguyen, or email her at terry.nguyen@chronicle.com.