The Early Admissions Game

Joining the Elite, With a New Chapter

Christopher Avery, Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser, Christopher. Avery, Andrew. Fairbanks, Richard J. Zeckhauser

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780674016200, 9780674010550
• eBook ISBN: 9780674020344
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Each year, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors compete in a game they'll play only once, whose rules they do not fully understand, yet whose consequences are enormous. The game is college admissions, and applying early to an elite school is one way to win. But the early admissions process is enigmatic and flawed. It can easily lead students toward hasty or misinformed decisions.

This book—based on the careful examination of more than 500,000 college applications to fourteen elite colleges and hundreds of interviews with students, counselors, and admissions officers—provides an extraordinarily thorough analysis of early admissions. In clear language it details the advantages and pitfalls of applying early as it provides a map for students and parents to navigate the process. Unlike college admissions guides, The Early Admissions Game reveals the realities of early applications, how they work and what effects they have. The authors frankly assess early applications. Applying early is not for everyone, but it will improve—sometimes double, even triple—the chances of being admitted to a prestigious college.

An early decision program can greatly enhance a college's reputation by skewing statistics, such as selectivity, average SAT scores, or percentage of admitted applicants who matriculate. But these gains come at the expense of distorting applicants' decisions and providing disparate treatment of students who apply early and regular admissions. The system, in short, is unfair, and the authors make recommendations for improvement.

The Early Admissions Game is sure to be the definitive work on the subject. It is must reading for admissions officers, guidance counselors, and high school seniors and their parents.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction: Joining the Game
• 1. The History of Early Admissions
• 2. The State of the Game
• 3. Martian Blackjack: What Do Applicants Understand about Early Admissions?
• 4. The Innocents Abroad: The Admissions Voyage
• 5. The Truth about Early Applications
• 6. The Game Revealed: Strategies of Colleges, Counselors, and Applicants
• 7. Advice to Applicants
• Conclusion: The Essence of the Game and Some Possible Reforms
• Early Admissions 2004
• Appendix A: Median SAT-1 Scores and Early Application Programs at Various Colleges
• Appendix B: Data Sources
• Appendix C: Interview Formats
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Tables and Figures
• Index