Imagine once you graduate you’re forced to meet a group of potential partners, and have to pick one without even getting to know them or if any of the others are available. After you’ve picked, you have to marry and stay with this person for a minimum of four years. This is the equivalent of early decision (ED) to me.
An early decision (ED) application is a binding commitment to a single-choice college. If accepted, you are required to enroll and withdraw any applications to other schools. Making this decision perpetuates not looking at any of your other options and choosing quickly, which is how you commonly make mistakes. For a decision as serious as college, looking at all your options and learning more about them after acceptance is crucial.
Recently, an ED student from Colorado Academy had second thoughts and backed out of their ED agreement with Tulane, a university who admits two thirds of their students through ED. You may be thinking ‘oh maybe it’s not that bad if you’re able to back out’ or ‘they can’t be that mad.’ Wrong. Due to this one student breaking their agreement the university enacted a ban that prevented the high school’s next senior class from applying early decision. The fact that this single choice is so serious that it can significantly impact your life and those around you if it goes wrong already proves that this decision is simply too serious for a teenager to make.
Already in this day and age students are known for idolizing “dream schools” and spending their entire high school careers working towards an acceptance from their chosen school. This fixed mindset often causes academic burnout and emotional distress if not accepted. Thinking this way and hinging all of your worth on a single institution, can make you feel rejected as a person, when in reality an admissions officer skimmed over your application in less than a minute and decided based on some unknown standard.
Not to mention this system is also completely unfair. The system can be defined as anti-meritocratic: opposing the principle that social status and advancement should be based on individual ability, talent and performance, often favoring alternative systems like generosity, family ties or social connections. Early decision is nothing but a way colleges can ensure they have enough students that are eligible to pay full tuition, and in return reward them with an undeserved inflated accept rate.
Honestly, I thought we were moving past these blatantly unfair discriminatory practices in academics. With increased scholarship opportunities through FAFSA, QuestBridge and even chain corporations like McDonalds, it feels extremely outdated to have an entire application system hinged on blindly deciding early with the knowledge that you can fork up the money.
This advantage isn’t just a couple extra percentage points either, universities have been getting away with having ED acceptance rates up to triple the regular decision rate. Universities such as Duke, Emory, UVA and Georgetown have been known to accept up to 70% of their class of 2029 through early decision, while 60% of early decision applicants come from the wealthiest 20% of U.S. zip codes.
It’s time to throw out this dated two-tiered admissions system and get with the times, where the playing field should be as level as we can make it. When we stop turning a blind-eye to these obnoxiously unjust systems and constantly trying to get a leg up over each other due to everything but merit, we can finally take a step towards creating a more just and equitable society.
