On April 8, Emory released its undergraduate admission statistics for the Class of 2018's Regular Decision applicants.
According to the report, 25.9 percent of students who applied were admitted. Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Enrollment and Dean of Undergraduate Admission John Latting noted that, among the students admitted specifically to Emory College, there was an increase in offers to underrepresented minority students. He also stated that classes in both colleges are becoming more nationally and internationally diverse each year.
We at the Wheel applaud the Office of Undergraduate Admissions' efforts to embrace and increase diversity on Emory's campus. However, we have some thoughts concerning the growing size of Early Decision (ED) students that comprise each incoming class.
In the report, Latting estimated that 50 percent of enrolling students in Emory College's Class of 2018 will have applied ED, a number that has been rising for the past few years. We encourage the Office of Undergraduate Admission to carefully watch this increase of students admitted through the ED process, because even as it has its advantages, it could also be problematic.
We acknowledge the benefits of ED, a binding admission policy used by many schools that allows students to indicate that a specific school is their top choice. Students may only apply to one school ED, and if students are accepted, they must attend. This process may be beneficial on our campus because it attracts students that show a strong interest in Emory – students who apply ED clearly want to be here. Additionally, the process takes a burden off of students undergoing the grueling admissions process who truly want to attend Emory because they are notified of the decision earlier in the year.
However, we feel that there may be significant costs when emphasizing ED. The ED1 acceptance rate for the Class of 2017, our current freshman class, was 52.9 percent, much higher than that year's Regular Decision rate of 25.4 percent. These numbers were calculated by the Wheel based on statistics provided by the Office of Admissions. In moderation, ED can create a class of students who are excited about Emory, but in excess, ED can limit the socioeconomic diversity of the school. Statistically, students who apply ED have more secure financial standing, since the binding nature of ED acceptance can deter students who may not have the same flexibility or can be sure they can afford the school's ever-climbing tuition.
Latting noted that applying early is an option that attracts students who don't need the competitive financial packages offered by Regular Decision. Students with more financial ability who are able to apply ED enjoy the benefits of higher acceptance rates, and therefore, these students may have an advantage when gaining admittance to Emory. We see a potential area of weakness in the system: the ED process generally gives an unfair advantage to students with higher socioeconomic status.
We encourage the Office of Undergraduate Admission to continue to take this problem into consideration. Perhaps a solution is the Single-Choice Early Action process, which allows students the option to demonstrate their interest in Emory as their first choice in private school but is non-binding.
We at the Wheel also recognize our limited knowledge of the application and admittance process, but we encourage the Office of Undergraduate Admission to provide more transparency with demographic information in upcoming admission seasons so students are able to form more educated opinions about the makeup of their school.
Lastly, we would like to congratulate the incoming Class of 2018 on their acceptance to Emory. We acknowledge the difficulty of the college application process, and we applaud you for your achievements.
The above staff editorial represents the majority of opinion of the Wheel's editorial board.
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