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Staff Editorial: Keep ’em coming

The latest Early Decision statistics may signal a change in admissions office strategy. While Early Decision applications grew an anemic 1 percent, the early acceptance rate soared by almost 10 percent. At first glance, it appears the College is losing ground.
Associate Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger suggested something different: accepting more students may help increase general admissions selectivity in April, a figure often cited in college guides.

And, whether appropriate or not, that selectivity is assumed to be a measure of prestige. While we would prefer the College eliminate Early Decision completely and move to the more equitable Early Action, we are pleased that the admissions office finally appears to be actively trying to reverse a recent troubling slide in perceived selectivity.

The College is making other important strides. A long-overdue website redesign is in the works, and should serve as an attractive introduction to the school to those whose first visit may take place on a 15-inch monitor.

But there is much the admissions office still needs to address. The school needs to broaden and increase its applicant pool nationally. This may be achieved through more creative means — by waiving application fees for high-performing students across the country who reach some SAT and GPA threshold, for example. Like many other schools, the College uses the Common Application, and were it free for a select group of gifted high schoolers, carrying the application to the mailbox could be the most painful part of the process.

But new websites and application fee subsidies are big tasks compared to other small changes the College could make. The school needs to be more aggressive in sending admissions literature to students who take the SAT in order to spread the College’s name and broaden our geographic recruiting base. Back on campus, when borderline candidates call the admissions office to ask about applying, they should always be encouraged to apply, no matter their qualifications. The student who never applies can never be considered, and more applications can only make for a stronger class.

The College ranks among the nation’s premier liberal arts institutions — public and private — but it cannot remain so without bright and ambitious students. It’s up to the admissions staff to make every effort to keep them coming.