Harvard Drops Early Admissions

Harvard University shocked the world of college admissions by announcing they plan to ban early applications. Currently, many colleges and universities allow students to apply in the fall of their senior year. Administrators at Harvard have rightly concluded that early admissions puts low-income and minority applicants at a disadvantage. Hopefully this decision will spark other reforms in the college admissions.

Early admissions are problematic because they favor students who can prepare an application throughout their junior year of high school. Young people from affluent backgrounds can afford to hire expensive admissions consultants who help navigate through the application process. In contrast, less wealthy students only have help from their parents and maybe a sympathetic guidance counselor.

Harvard specifically cited the barriers experienced by working-class students as the primary motivation for dropping early application. It is gratifying to see such an elite institution motivated by these types of concerns. Other colleges and universities should look to Harvard as an example of how to make higher education more accessible.