The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite [Hardcover]

Christopher Avery (Author), Andrew Fairbanks (Author), Richard Zeckhauser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674010558 | ISBN-13: 978-0674010550 | Publication Date: March 31, 2003

Each year, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors compete in a game they'll play only once, whose rules they do not fully understand, yet whose consequences are enormous. The game is college admissions, and applying early to an elite school is one way to win. But the early admissions process is enigmatic and flawed. It can easily lead students toward hasty or misinformed decisions.

This book--based on the careful examination of more than 500,000 college applications to fourteen elite colleges, and hundreds of interviews with students, counselors, and admissions officers--provides an extraordinarily thorough analysis of early admissions. In clear language it details the advantages and pitfalls of applying early as it provides a map for students and parents to navigate the process. Unlike college admissions guides, The Early Admissions Game reveals the realities of early applications, how they work and what effects they have. The authors frankly assess early applications. Applying early is not for everyone, but it will improve--sometimes double, even triple--the chances of being admitted to a prestigious college.

An early decision program can greatly enhance a college's reputation by skewing statistics, such as selectivity, average SAT scores, or percentage of admitted applicants who matriculate. But these gains come at the expense of distorting applicants' decisions and providing disparate treatment of students who apply early and regular admissions. The system, in short, is unfair, and the authors make recommendations for improvement.

The Early Admissions Game is sure to be the definitive work on the subject. It is must reading for admissions officers, guidance counselors, and high school seniors and their parents. (20030307)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Researching and applying to colleges is a demanding, confusing, and stressful time for both students and parents. This book provides context and guidance to admissions professionals, to college counselors, and to families as they confront today's highly competitive, and often controversial, college admissions scene. It offers an insightful and authoritative explanation of the strategic choices that await those seeking to enroll at the nation's leading colleges and universities. It can help a student decide whether, when and why to apply early. Most important, it can give applicants the confidence to focus less on the "game" and more on the truly critical factors in choosing a college: the level of intellectual challenge and vitality in the curriculum, the strength and accessibility of the faculty, and the student's individual sense of fit with a particular campus environment and culture.
--Nancy Vickers, President, Bryn Mawr College

The Early Admissions Game explains clearly and comprehensively the many forces that have made early applications a prominent - and much misunderstood - feature in the high-pressure arena of college admissions. The authors clear away the hype and speculation, then offer refreshingly sane, sensible guidance that will greatly help students make intelligent decisions about their college applications.
--William D. Wharton, Headmaster, Commonwealth School, Boston

Avery, Fairbanks, and Zeckhauser offer clear and compelling evidence that the college admissions process needs repair. Their findings have already inspired steps toward reform.
--Richard Levin, President, Yale University

This is an exceptionally interesting and intelligent book-one with real 'news' to report. The authors present their important findings with great clarity. I expect that this volume will have a significant and favorable impact on policy discussion of early admission programs at elite colleges.
--Michael McPherson, President, Macalester College

Anyone involved in the college admissions process -- students and parents, counselors and admissions officers, top officials at high schools and at colleges -- should read this important book. It will help them achieve their objectives. The authors also present a number of suggestions for reforms in the admissions system that are worthy of debate across American higher education.
--Lawrence H. Summers, President, Harvard University

Applying to an elite college through an early-admissions program can improve students' chances of getting in by as much as 50 percent over their odds during the regular admissions cycle, a difference that is the equivalent of scoring 100 points higher on the SAT...Based on an analysis of admission data at top colleges, as well as interviews with over 400 college freshmen [The Early Admissions Game] challenges the official line of college admissions deans, who have long held that applying early does not give prospective students an advantage over regular applicants. But the research confirms what many high-school counselors already suspected, and it is likely to fuel debate over whether early-admissions programs favor wealthy and well-connected students and should be eliminated or reformed.
--Jeffrey R. Young (Chronicle of Higher Education )

[This] important contribution to the college-admissions process should reduce the general anxiety that pervades today's transition to college and, in particular, help level the playing field for students who lack access to adequate college counseling. The book may also prompt needed reform of contemporary admissions practices...The authors' goal...deserves acclaim for helping inner-city and rural students and those in other understaffed districts to pursue admission on a much more even footing...There is a wealth of information in this well-organized, clearly-written book which will enable students to make better college choices.
--William R. Fitzsimmons (Harvard Magazine )

Readers seeking solid information about elite colleges will find The Early Admissions Game refreshingly frank. Other readers concerned about restoring some equity to the process will also appreciate the book's generosity of spirit and suggestions for reform. The authors present a devastating portrait of elite college admissions--and early admissions in particular--as an elaborate and complicated "game"...[where the winners] tend to be privileged students who have access to highly skilled counselors with information pipelines to elite college admissions offices.
--Peter Sacks (The Nation )

Avery and his colleagues describe college admissions as a casino on Mars: you have to guess the rules of the game you are playing, and the rules can change while you are playing it...[Their chief finding] is that applying early significantly increases the chances of acceptance...Colleges argue that the early-admissions pool is stronger than the regular pool...[but the authors] dispute that claim...The Early Admissions Game is intended as an exposé, for high-school students and their parents, of the realities of college admissions, but it is also a protest against the practice of early admissions. The authors believe that these programs benefit privileged students...[and] cheat disadvantaged students.
--Louis Menand (The New Yorker )

About the Author

Christopher Avery is Professor of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Andrew Fairbanks is former Associate Dean of Admissions at Wesleyan University.

Richard Zeckhauser is Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674010558
• ISBN-13: 978-0674010550
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best evidence that early admission boosts acceptance., January 17, 2004

By 

Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book that provides the best evidence that Early Admission programs boost your chance of admission. The authors have conducted world-class research on this esoteric subject. They support any of their hypotheses with a lot of data, graphs, tables, and references. In other words, they don't make anything up. And, they uncover a whole lot of stuff nobody else did. Despite the somewhat quantitative and dry nature of this book, it is very easy to read given the very lively writing style of the authors.

This book fits a very unique niche within the college admission literature. I can't think of any other book as a substitute. However, I also recommend `A is for Admission' by Michele Hernandez. In their own research, the authors mention this is one of the better and most honest books on college admission they came across. I agree, as I have also studied that book in detail. Nevertheless, `The Early Admission Game' given its much more narrow focus than your standard college admission guide drills down a lot deeper on acceptance rate probabilities, and other implications of the early admission programs at top schools.

Their research is unequivocal; applying Early Action (EA) is the equivalent of a 100-point boost in SAT score. While applying Early Decision (ED) is the equivalent of a 150 + point boost in SAT score. Most of the selective schools that use these programs refute this evidence. They argue that the pool of students who apply early is much stronger, and that is why the acceptance rates are higher. But, the authors' research strongly rebuts this. To the contrary, they found there is very little difference between the early applicants and the regular ones. They actually found that EA applicants were slightly stronger. But, that ED was slightly weaker.

The book provides the best data I have ever seen on acceptance rates at the top schools. The book gives you the whole distribution of acceptance rate given specific SAT score buckets. For instance, Stanford's acceptance rate associated with SAT scores of 1400 is 9%. This is true whether a student applies early or not. Thus, in this case the SAT score is too low for the early admission benefit to kick in. On the other hand, if an applicant has an SAT score between 1410 - 1450, the acceptance rate for an early applicant jumps to 40% that is essentially the same as for regular applicants with SAT score of 1510 - 1550. Meanwhile, regular applicants with scores of 1410 - 1450 would get an acceptance rate of only 19%. In other words, an applicant with an SAT score of 1410 to 1450 would more than double their chance of being accepted by applying early (a jump from 19% to 40%).

In essence, the early admission programs offer students a Faustian deal: apply early at a top school and you will get a much greater chance of being accepted. On the other hand, you will probably have reduced or eliminated your choice of colleges, and you will limit your financial aid. Indeed, when you apply early you give up your negotiation power within the financial aid game. This is especially true for ED. This does not mean you will not get financial aid. But, your financial aid package will be limited to a basic "meets need" level. This is probably less than if you could freely negotiate your financial aid package between two or three schools that accepted you.

Given the nature of this Faustian deal, it is logical that it is the wealthier students who apply early, and the minority students who apply later during regular admission. Thus, the early admission programs have been deemed unfair and having severe social policy repercussion against minorities. But, is this really the case? The authors indicate that African Americans benefit from a staggering 400-point advantage. In other words, the early admission program is just a mean for others to attempt to even out somewhat this "diversity" game. And, as the research indicate the advantage of an African American is still between more than two to four times as great as any advantage obtained by early applicants. The ones who may suffer from the implication of early applications are not the minorities, but the lower middle class and middle class for whom financial aid is a material consideration. This is the case for two reasons. They are locked out of the acceptance advantage of ED. And, also the acceptance rate for regular applicant is lowered the more a specific school uses early application to fill its freshman class. And, that is tough.

Besides political correctness, there is no doubt you should apply early to your top choice "reach" school if you can afford it. There are a couple of caveats however. Make sure that your ED application is your first choice. If you don't have a clear first choice, limit your early applications to EA only that do not bind you to matriculate at that school. Also, make sure you can afford receiving a less than optimal financial aid package. Finally, don't waste your EA or ED options. Let's say you have a 1250 SAT score, don't waste your ED card on an Ivy League. You are not in the ballpark. Even with the advantage of early application, you just won't get in. So, play your EA/ED card carefully by fully understanding the financial aid implications and the acceptance rate probability implications.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't apply to college before reading this!, May 12, 2003

By 

K. G Havemann "ARabidReader" (Dayton, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite (Hardcover)

This is an excellent expose of the game of college admissions as played mostly by the wealthiest and and most sophisticated prospective students who know about early decision programs. This book is, therefore, a must-read for every high school guidance counselor and parent of a child going to college, especially those who believe elite college admissions are extended only to the best qualified.

The only criticism of early admission I have some disagreement with is one emphasized frequently in the book -- that first semester high school seniors who apply early do not have time to sufficiently research potential colleges and know which will be the best fits for them. Information about colleges should be gathered during the student's junior year and, by September or October of his senior year, he/she should have a a good enough idea of what is reasonable to attain and what he/she wants in a college to be able to choose one above all others -- if early decision is something that student wants. The difference in application deadlines is only two months, not enough to make a significant difference for the serious-minded student. If that student wants Princeton more than any other college and, if Princeton fills 60% of its class from early applicants, it would be foolish for that student to wait until January to apply. That may not be the ideal situation but it is the reality.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to play the game AND how to make the game more fair, May 12, 2003

By 

Bradford R. MacGowan (Chelmsford, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite (Hardcover)

In the not-too-distant past, the college admissions process was fairly straightforward. It was not fair, but it was fairly straightforward. Some recent changes to the process have brought more fairness, some have brought more complexity, and some have reduced fairness while increasing complexity. A change that has both reduced fairness and increased complexity is the preponderance of "Early Admissions" (i.e., "Early Decision" and "Early Action") plans.

Whatever one's opinions on Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED), they are realities that present high school students, their parents, and their counselors with a dilemma: To EA/ED or not to EA/ED?

When looking for answers to this dilemma, students, parents, and counselors have had to rely on unclear messages, equivocal statements, anecdotes, and urban myths.

"The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite" shines a bright and needed light into the darkest recesses of a murky maze. The book combines irrefutable statistics and the words of high school students, college students, and admissions professionals to present a clear and readable picture of a complex, often hermetic issue.

I don't use the phrase "irrefutable statistics" loosely here. Statistics are too often used to "prove" a theory that looks a lot like the preconceived notion that the researcher brought to the research. However, in this case, the authors possess the objectivity to report their findings with clarity and without baggage. Also, their backgrounds in economics, public policy, and college admissions give them the qualifications and abilities to present a comprehensive and in-depth review of the subject.

"The Early Admissions Game" explains both how to play the game by the current rules and, at the same time, advocates for a better, fairer system for the future. Information for the debate on EA/ED and practical advice for those coping in the "Age of EA/ED" are well presented.

Whether you love EA/ED, hate it, or just want to better understand EA/ED and the rest of the admissions process, this is a great book to read.