The early results are in …

For a lot of us, the waiting game to hear from college admissions continues. But for a record number of others, decisions have already been announced. This year has seen a large uptick in the number of applicants who applied to college Early Action (EA - non-binding) and Early Decision (ED - binding). I’ll have a more detailed post in a few weeks, but here are some surprising (?) numbers:

College 1:

35% increase in ED applicants

15% increase in EA applicants

A full quarter of the incoming class of 2025 accepted through ED (with EA being announced next month), and then Regular Decision

College 2:

17% increase in ED applicants

Also, “fewer (admitted students) than normal because of the number of students taking a gap year this year”

College 3:

23% increase in ED applicants

62% of ED students DID submit standardized test scores

76% of ED students who were admitted DID submit standardized test scores

What does this all mean? Good question. I’m guessing that the rise in ED and EA is in part due to parents and students wanting some early “certainty” in this time of great uncertainty. Who know is if this trend will continue, but College 1 taking ¼ of their freshman class through ED (and still have EA and then RD) … that’s a large percentage. As for the College 3 and the number of applicants who submitted standardized tests (although they were “optional”), not surprising. Nor am I surprised by the fact that ¾ of their applicants who were accepted ED submitted scores. With a great number of high school students getting A’s, applicants look at the SAT / ACT as a way to validate their good grades. It remains to be seen in the months ahead if colleges brag about the high ACT / SAT scores from this year’s incoming class, even though the scores were “optional”.