Admissions Sends Early Decision Packets to Record Pool of Applicants

To the crew of the UPS truck idling along College Walk, the red-fringed envelopes were just another pickup on a busy Thursday afternoon. But for Columbia's early decision applicants, the envelopes contained the life-changing news that they will be attending their first choice school.

The mailings—sent to applicants to both Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science—were the final step in the early decision admissions processes, in which high-school seniors improve their chances of acceptance by making a binding commitment to attend Columbia. In spite of mounting criticism that early decision programs favor wealthy applicants, Columbia continues to admit a significant portion of its student body from the early decision pool, including approximately 27% of CC's class of 2012, according to Columbia's web site.

This year's early decision application pool was the largest in Columbia's history, according to a statement from Jessica Marinaccio, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions. "Early Decision applications to Columbia College increased 16% over last year," she said. "The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science saw a 20% increase."

The admissions department sent out the admission packets in two lots. For the first wave, consisting of domestic applicants, a UPS truck executed a three-point-turn, backing right up to the door of Hamilton. Jubilant admissions staffers emerged bearing egg crates full of thick envelopes, which they loaded onto the racks of the large truck. Dave Kundel, one of the UPS crewmembers, explained that the packets arrive at their destinations within one to two days. The second lot, sent an hour later via FedEx, went to international addresses.

The admissions staff appeared to be very happy to bid the packets farewell. Some of them sang as they braved the rain, and smiled as they posed with UPS and FedEx crew for group pictures.

Not everybody is pleased with early decision programs. Several universities, including Princeton and Harvard, have ended their early decision programs on the grounds that they discriminate against lower-income students, who often lack access to the extensive advising resources that help their wealthier competitors prepare their applications.

Still, early decision remains a fixture of admissions processes for most top-ranked universities.

Many of the recipients of the packages will be thrilled to get the news, but they aren't the only ones happy about the mailings. "In this economic climate," Kundel said, "we're really happy to have the business from you guys."