Early Decision: College Experts Forum
Comments from David Hawsey
by David Hawsey
Vice President for Enrollment
Albion College
The entire process of students preparing for college is based upon a rather
consistent approach regarding what grades, skills, knowledge, test scores,
and other experiences students think they should achieve when applying
to colleges. The "rules of engagement" for students reflect
a similar, consistent character. Ironically, colleges treat this very
same information with anything but a consistent approach. The standards
we expect students to adhere to (via NACAC) are at gross odds with what
we ourselves model in the ensuing relationship we develop in the application
process, and in subsequent communications during that relationship.
To sum up the issue: Early Decision policies are some of the most unfair
to students and their families, given the real reasons colleges use them.
What's worse, top-tier schools like Harvard have very little use for ED
policies nowadays, compared to the original intent of ED when first developed,
given the enormous number of well-qualified applicants and the very low
risks they encounter when juggling policies like ED or EA. Truth be told,
given the original intent of ED, the entire issue within higher education
may very well have very little relevance in the final result. As Groucho
Marx once said, "There's less there than meets the eye." Students
do what they need to do, anyway, to protect their own interests in the
face of inconsistent practices, policies, and messages from colleges themselves.
I tell parents and guidance professionals all the time (respectfully)
that NACAC is a third-party influencer, but in no way does it have any
legal authority over any college or university. And they have no business
telling families what they can-and cannot-do when it comes to making decisions
about where they will invest a substantial amount of time and resources
in selecting and financing a college education. They (NACAC) do a very
good job of being a student advocate and that is their real strength.
Yet advocacy is one thing. When it comes to trying to be the "enforcer"
of a policy that shapes the expectations of how students (consumers) and
colleges (the service) interact, the real problem with policies like "you
can only apply to one school via ED" is that it assumes consistency
in the ways in which colleges "do what they do" when it comes
to managing application and financial aid information from students nationwide.
ED is a mess, and students are the ones who suffer.
Put yourself in the shoes of the average family who has a child with
great grades, test scores, and co-curricular involvement. Typical (consistent)
stuff, right? Imagine the following scenario: You follow the "rules"
about applying to only one ED school, and do not get accepted. Many colleges
don't automatically move you into the regular decision pool (another tactic
that does not serve the consumer well), so you might think you have a
chance with RD. Meanwhile, let's pretend you could have been accepted
at another college ED if only you had also applied there, regardless of
NACAC's "rules." How fair is this to a student who might have
been accepted ED at another college, but not the only one s/he was "told"
they could apply to?
Not very fair at all, given issues of differential financial aid packaging
in ED-and let's remember "meeting need" guarantees you just
that: you'll have your need met-but what we don't tell students beforehand
is what the components of the award might be. Many students get excited
about ED acceptance. Unfortunately they often find out that the reality
of a heavy loan burden creates a situation where the family second-guesses
the true value of investing so much in something that does not guarantee
anything about future wealth, career options, physical/emotional health,
professional, or personal success. Many decide to go elsewhere, and a
few end up with no choices at all because they followed the "rules."
The reasons for the rules have changed, but because colleges don't want
to "rock the boat" with NACAC policies. "Punishments"
range from sternly worded letters to specific sanctions, including being
barred from national college fairs. But think about it. Do we really think
Harvard University would suffer greatly if they missed a few national
fairs?
I know for a fact that many of my colleagues in second- and third-tier
colleges (the bulk of schools in American higher education), and even
a few among U.S. News's "Tier I" really don't spend a lot of
time wondering whether someone has double-applied ED between us and a
competitor. We realize kids end up where they belong because of the "fit"-if
we (colleges) do our jobs right and do it well. And I tell parents to
protect their family's overall interests, and keep their kid's best interests
in mind, not the interests of colleges. We hold all the cards, so-to-speak.
We know lots about you (student/family/finances)-you have to do all the
work to figure out who does what at each college you consider.
As I stare at the pictures of my three wonderful children, I realize that
in a few years they'll be shopping for the best "fit" and when
they ask about ED, the professional in me will disappear, and the father
in me (along with my consumer mindset) will kick in. My daughter and two
sons will apply to as many schools as they desire, given the right reasons,
under ED, EA, or early-anything. Why? Because I understand the "insider's
game" well enough to know their chances of being accepted ED at various
schools will rely more on internal practices and policies than the realities
of the business environment of individual colleges. And also more than
which college is actually the "best fit," given what schools
say about themselves to 18 year-old prospects. With all respect due respect
to NACAC, I'll be darned if some remarkably unfair rule about ED, called
a necessary and fair practice because of the expectations of colleges
(do students really owe us something?) will decide how my kids approach
the college search process. This is one time when Dad will be anything
but consistent!
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David Hawsey is Vice President for Enrollment
at Albion College, Michigan. He has
served as a higher education administrator, guest speaker, consultant,
and adjunct faculty member over the last two decades, holding positions
of director, dean, associate vice president and vice president in Carnegie-classified
Baccalaureate colleges, Masters, Doctoral I, and Research I universities
nationwide. His responsibilities have included strategic planning and
management in alumni relations, admissions, development, financial aid,
and marketing. He is co-author of America's
Elite Colleges, The Smart Applicant's Guide to the Ivy League and Other
Top Schools (2001, Princeton Review/Random House), and is a founding
partner of CollegeConfidential.com, America's premier top-tier college
search and counseling website. His inside perspective on admissions, financial
aid, and enrollment management issues gives prospective students and their
families a crucial advantage during the challenging college search process.
