The Washington Post: “At the University of Virginia, most applications arrive by Nov. 1 for the first round of freshman admissions. There were about 25,000 early hopefuls for the public flagship university’s Class of 2023, up 17 percent from the previous year. They will learn this month whether they got in. Those who applied in the second round, ahead of the regular Jan. 1 deadline, will receive decisions by the end of March. Everyone admitted has until May 1 to decide whether to enroll.”
“U-Va. is hardly alone. Many schools, public and private, report significant increases in early applications.” For example, compared to a year ago, the percentage increase in early applications jumped 19% at Duke, 21% at Brown, 39% at Rice, and 42% at New York University. “At the University of Rochester, about 1,200 applied for fall early decision. That was up 35 percent from the year before.” Jonathan Burdick, Rochester’s dean of admissions and financial aid comments: “The numbers keep growing rapidly. We’ve had double-digit increases each year for as long as I can remember.”
“Occasionally, Burdick said, students admitted through early decision will try to break the rules and keep shopping. Such students run ‘a genuine risk’ of having their offers revoked, he said, if schools learn a contract has been broken. Burdick said he tells prospective students: ‘Please don’t apply early unless you love Rochester and it’s definitely where you want to be’.”
